Dear Husband’s father died last week. Our prayers that he could go home to Heaven quickly weren’t answered. One of us sat by his bedside 24/7 for two and a half weeks, trying to help him through his long, very dark valley of death. It was hard to watch him struggle. But the last few hours were peaceful, and he finally went home to his Lord quietly. I’ll never have a romanticized view of death again. Dying is often horrible.
Jonah recorded his feelings after he had a near-death experience, and it wasn’t rainbows and roses.
“Great trouble . . . Land of the dead . . . Depths . . .sank down . . . Engulfed . . . Buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. . . Sank . . . Closed over me . . . Sank down. . . Imprisoned . . . Gates lock shut forever.” Jonah 2
Even our Lord Jesus dreaded the awfulness of dying. Contemplating his imminent death put him into overwhelming sorrow.
“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, . . . and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:36,38
Another translation of verse 38: He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Jesus prayed to God in his anguish, and he craved the presence and prayerful support of his closest friends. He is our example when we know we’re about to die. We can pray for life, but willingly accept whatever God’s will is, even if it’s death.
During his hours of dying a painful and degrading death, he is also our example. Because he was fully human, he had bodily needs. He was thirsty from blood loss, so he asked for a drink, fulfilling Psalm 69:21. From the cross, he made arrangements for the care of his beloved mother. He forgave those who caused his death. He cried out to God in desperation because he felt abandoned. He encouraged a fellow sufferer with a promise. He had peace that he had accomplished what he was given to do. He willingly released his life into his Father’s hands. (Matthew 27, Luke 23, John 19)
The dying part of death is fearsome. No one looks forward to the suffering, yet our dying is also our final victory. After death, we get to enjoy eternal life with God. We’ll never have to experience sorrow, pain, or death again. Dying is our last battle with the devil, and we don’t have to do it alone. Our Savior already faced death alone for us. Then he came back to life by God’s power and is with us when we face death. He walks with us in this darkest valley as David said in Psalm 23. Then he gives us the eternal life he won for us by his own death.
“… just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4
The devil won’t have his way. He wants to kill and destroy. And for now, the devil is able to kill. But he cannot destroy our souls. Jesus broke the devil’s power. We’re no longer controlled by fear. Death doesn’t have the last say.
“. . . so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2:14-15
When we hold fast to Jesus’ promises, we’re never left alone to face death and the devil. Our Victor protects our souls. As a dear friend wrote upon hearing of the death of dear Husband’s father, “Another redeemed sinner safely home.” Hallelujah! Amen! And someday that will be said of us who cling to the Redeemer, too.
BTW, my father-in-law used the word Hallelujah when talking in his last days about going to Heaven. It was so unusual for this reserved, private man to use such a strong word. It was a great encouragement to us to hear his strong expectation of coming glory. Are you clinging to the promises of Jesus that those who believe in him will not be condemned, but have everlasting life?
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life with God.” John 3:16 (EasyEnglish Bible)
