"Faith is My Life - But One Day I Must Die"

One of the priceless privileges I have been granted numerous times over the years is the opportunity of sitting beside a fellow traveler on this road of faith as they breathed their final breaths. The faces and words of some of those special men and women flood my mind right now. You would expect to hear words of anxiety or anger or sadness. But, here's the really big blessing I have witnessed over and over - NEVER have I seen a person of true faith die in fear. Here is one sister's story that she would definitely want me to share with you.
I was called to her home late one afternoon by her sister who had come to her bedside from a small town in Tennessee. She had been battling cancer for months and her doctor finally sent her home, at her insistence, when they had exhausted every avenue of a possible cure. The experience had literally exhausted her physically and emotionally. She had lived alone for many years following the death of her husband, and neither of her two estranged children wanted anything to do with her. Her very sweet, loving sister came to be with her.
I sat down by her bed, took her hand and she opened her eyes and weakly smiled. She said "Thank you for coming. I'm sure you know I am dying and I just need to hear some words of reassurance from God. I'm not really afraid but I don't really want to die. But I am excited about seeing Jesus."
I opened my Bible and read these words to her:

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.
Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith and not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:1-7 NIV

This dear sister began to breathe easier as I prayed for her with gentle tears running down both our cheeks. She let out a very long sigh. Her sister had sat down with us on the other side of the bed and reached out to hug her. They began to quietly whisper their love for each other so after having been there more than an hour, I excused myself and left with instructions to call my office if she needed me further. She died that day in the early evening. Her sister told me later it was a blessing from God to have been there with her.
Three key words should reverberate in your spirit:

• GUARANTEE - the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us what he promised
• ALWAYS CONFIDENT - because of God's guarantee which we receive through the Spirit
• KNOW - is a function of the faith that God has made me for a higher purpose than death.

Living by faith will not prevent our physical death - that event is destined to occur. In fact, it must occur for us to be "clothed with our heavenly dwelling". The really difficult part isn't dying, or at least that is how I view it right now since I'm not staring death in the face. Probably the most difficult part is getting there. Most often the body fights to live, so dying can be a painful, long process and our whole healthcare system is set up to prolong life at all cost.
Now please don't derail your life by obsessing about dying. Think about it, yes, but not to the point that you fail to, as Paul said later, "So we make it our goal to please him whether we are at home in the body or away from it." 5:9 Death is merely a function of life, but there is much more after that event which our Father will only make known to us at that time.
Why have I NEVER seen a person of real faith die in fear? I really don't know how to answer that, but I suspect there may be a point in there somewhere when Jesus shows up and holds out his nail scarred hands and gently says, "Come on, it's okay I've already walked this road. You'll be fine."

Until next time keep shouting HALLELUJAH!