April 2025

How happy can I be when I’m scared of dying? “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” Revelation 14:13 Many things are scary. Watching your infant wiggle out of the car carrier that you had momentarily set on the table—that’s scary. Witnessing a car swerve into oncoming traffic— that’s scary. But of all the scary things, death for many people is the scariest. It’s scary because of what we know and don’t know. We know death is certain. Its cloud hangs over us at every traffic intersection, on every consult with our doctor, and during every violent storm. What we don’t know is what dying is like or what, if anything, happens after death. If there is no God, then death is the end and that’s it. If so, then death may be final and sad, but it’s hardly something to be afraid of. However, if there is existence after death and God is waiting to judge us for all the things we have done, then death is more than sad. It’s scary. God does exist. There are no ifs about that. The Bible pinpoints the greatest fear about dying and facing God: “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). Yes, that’s scary! So how happy can I be when I’m scared of dying? If it were up to us to find happiness in the face of death, we would be on an impossible journey. What we need to calm our fears and to find happiness is for someone to do something about death. The good news is that someone has. God, who awaits you after death, sent Jesus to destroy death’s fear. Jesus began that work by obeying God’s laws for you. Then he traded places with you. He gave you his perfect life in exchange for your sins. And so, with your sins laid on him, he suffered a most horrible death, which earned God’s forgiveness for you. With all sin forgiven, death lost its power. So, three days after his burial, Jesus rose to life from the dead. He defeated death so that it can no longer hold the lives and bodies of those it has claimed. God will raise all people from the dead. Believe this good news and know for sure that God waits for you with open arms to welcome you into his heaven. This is why God tells us in the Bible: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” The unknown experience of death may still be scary for you, but because death has been conquered by Jesus Christ, you can live happily, now and ever after.