What to Do When You’re Afraid of Dying
Key Takeaways
- Many Christians experience quiet thoughts or anxiety about aging and mortality, often keeping their fears hidden because it is uncomfortable to bring up at the dinner table.
- In 2 Corinthians 5:1, the Apostle Paul uses the metaphor of an earthly tent to describe our temporary physical bodies, noting that a permanent heavenly house is already built.
- Paul's confidence in facing death rests not on what we can see, but on God's promise and the Holy Spirit given as a guarantee or down payment.
- Even Jesus experienced deep distress in Gethsemane, proving that God welcomes our honest prayers and is not put off when we bring Him our fears about dying.
- True peace at the end of life comes from knowing Christ, trusting in His promises, and understanding that we have a permanent home waiting for us.
- A practical step to overcome fear is to honestly tell God what you are afraid of, slowly read the first ten verses of 2 Corinthians 5, and share your feelings with a trusted friend.
The thought keeps popping into your head, and you've told nobody. Learn why Paul calls your body a tent, and what he puts underneath a Christian's confidence about dying.
Some Christians have reached a stage where the thought of dying shows up more than it used to. A friend your age got a diagnosis. Or your own body has been letting you know it's older than it was. And you probably haven't said it to anybody, because bringing up your own death at the dinner table tends to end the conversation.
This episode opens with a hospice nurse who had been at the bedside of more dying people than she could count, and who started noticing a pattern she couldn't explain at first.
Second Corinthians 5:6-8 says, "So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord."
Start with the picture Paul uses a few verses earlier. Verse 1 calls this body an earthly tent, and says that when the tent is taken down we have a house in heaven waiting. A tent is what you put up knowing you'll take it down. So Paul had your body down as temporary from the start, and the permanent one is already built.
Then look at what he puts underneath the confidence. Verse 5 says God gave us His Spirit as a guarantee. That word was a business term, the down payment you made to prove the rest was coming.
Now the verse in the middle. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Paul drops that sentence right into a paragraph about dying, which means his confidence rests on what God promised and put a deposit on. Sight was never load-bearing for it. Hold that next to what your own fear works with, which is a body wearing out and a date you don't know.
Then look at verse 8 and what Paul prefers. He'd rather be away from this body, and he gives one reason. Then we will be at home with the Lord. The pull is about who's waiting on the other side.
And if you're thinking you shouldn't be afraid of this at all, look at Gethsemane. Jesus told His friends His soul was crushed to the point of death, and then asked whether the cup could be taken away. God won't be put off when you bring Him this.
Bart shares his own version of it, thirty years of being with families and individuals facing death, along with the difference he's seen.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:
Why Paul calls your body a tent, and what he says is already built The business term behind the word "guarantee" in verse 5 The sentence Paul drops into the middle of a paragraph about dying
Here's the practical step. Tell God what you're afraid of about dying, and what the fear is made of. Then read the first ten verses of 2 Corinthians 5 slowly, counting how many times Paul says confident. And tell one person who won't change the subject on you.
A note on today's topic. If you're facing a serious diagnosis, or if this fear has been with you long enough that it's affecting your sleep, start with your own pastor or a hospital chaplain. Your doctor can help too, and asking is a reasonable thing to do.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Bible say when you are afraid of dying?
In 2 Corinthians 5, the Apostle Paul encourages believers by comparing our earthly bodies to temporary tents and reminding us that we have a permanent, eternal home waiting for us in heaven with God.
Why do some Christians feel afraid of death?
Fear of dying often stems from watching our bodies wear out, facing uncertain health diagnoses, and dwelling on the unknown timeline of the future rather than focusing on God's eternal promises.
How can I overcome being afraid of dying?
You can overcome this fear by bringing your honest anxieties to God in prayer, meditating on 2 Corinthians 5, and talking openly with a trusted friend, pastor, or chaplain instead of keeping your fears bottled up.
Did Jesus ever feel afraid of death?
Yes, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told His disciples His soul was crushed to the point of death and asked if the cup of suffering could be taken away, showing that God understands and welcomes our honest fears.
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The nurse had been to this a long time. She had been
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to the bedside of more dying people than she could count, in
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hospital rooms and back bedrooms. She thought she had seen every
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way a person could meet the end. There were the fighters and the
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ones who slipped off in their sleep before anyone noticed. But
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over the years, she started to notice something she couldn't
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explain at first. There was a pattern, and she could see it in
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their faces. Some people came to the end of life, came to the
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edge terrified. Their eyes searched the room like they were
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looking for an exit that wasn't there. Others arrived at that
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same place, that same edge, looking almost ready, like they
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were waiting for a door to open. She mentioned it one day to a
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pastor she knew. She told him that some patients were much
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more restless at the end than others, and that the difference
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showed up in how it went. The truth was, she had noticed which
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patients came to the end at peace, and she had a theory
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about why. We'll come back to what she told him. But
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first, welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm
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Bart Leger. I've spent three decades being with families and
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with individuals who were facing death and the families who had
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just lost a loved one. Hospital rooms and living rooms both. And
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I've seen the difference between these two kinds of people in
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those hours, the ones who weren't sure where they were
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going or where their loved one had gone, and they're the ones
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whose faith was in Christ. Some of you reached the stage where
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you thought of dying more than you used to. A friend your age
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got a diagnosis, or your body's been letting you know it's older
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than it was, and the thought is popping up more and more lately.
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And you probably haven't said it to anybody. Bringing up your own
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death at the dinner table, well, that kind of tends to end the
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conversation. So you keep it to yourself. And keep it to
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yourself is what allows that fear to grow. Paul had something
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to say to the Corinthians about this. It's in 2 Corinthians 5,
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verses 6 through 8.
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Start with a picture Paul uses a few verses earlier, because I
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think it sets up everything else that follows. In verse 1, he
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calls this body an earthly tent. And he says,
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So Paul had your body down, that's temporary from the start,
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and he said that the permanent one is already built. Then look
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at what he places that confidence in. Verse 5 said,
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The word there is a business term, the down payment you made
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to prove the rest was coming. So the confidence has God's
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guarantee, has the money on the table, so to speak. Now, here's
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the verse in the middle, and it's the one I want you grab
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onto. For we live by faith and not by seeing. Paul drops that
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sentence right into the middle of a paragraph about dying. So
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whatever he's confident about, it rests on what God promised
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and put a deposit on. It was never about what we could see.
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Think about what your own fear does. Your fear works entirely
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on what you can see or what you're afraid of, which is a
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body wearing out and a date in the future you don't know. Paul
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says, The thing that you're standing on was never in that
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category. Then look at verse 8 and what Paul prefers. He'd
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rather be away from this body, and he gives the reason for it.
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Then we'll be at the home with the Lord. The pull is about
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who's waiting on the other side. And if you're thinking you
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shouldn't be afraid of this at all, look at Gethsemane. Jesus
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told his friends his soul was crushed to the point of death.
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And then he asked his father whether the cup could be taken
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away. The Son of God prayed about his own dying and asked
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out loud for another way. So God's not going to be put off
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when you bring him your fear. His son brought him the same
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thing. The difference, though, she told him, came down to one
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thing. This is what she told the pastor, whether the person knew
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where they were going. The ones with faith in Christ, she said,
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seemed to die calmly. There was a look of contentment on their
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faces, even as their bodies gave out. The ones without it often
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seemed to fight it, even after they'd stopped responding. The
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pastor took it to heart. His own mother-in-law was in her 90s, a
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Christian her whole life. When he asked her about dying, she
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told him she was eager to go and completely at peace about it.
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That kind of peace has a source. She already knew the address of
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the place she was headed. That peace rested on something
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outside her. She had an address and she knew it. And her faith
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was in Christ alone. Here's today's challenge. Tell God what
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you're afraid of about dying. Tell him what the fear is made
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of because he's not learning anything from you. He already
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knows. Then read 2 Corinthians 5 all the way through the first 10
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verses. Then read it slowly again. And pay attention to how
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many times Paul says he's confident. And then tell
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somebody else. It might be your spouse. It might be a friend
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from church who won't look down on you, won't change the subject
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on you. Father, your son said his own soul was crushed at the
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thought of what was coming. And he took it straight to you.
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Thank you that you put a deposit on the promise so we never had
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to take it alone. For everybody listening who lies awake with
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this, give them the words to bring to you tonight. And let
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them know the address of where they're headed. In Jesus' name,
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amen. If you need prayer today, I'd love to hear from you. You
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can leave me a voicemail at dailydevotionsforbusylives.com
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slash voicemail. I listen to every single one and it would be
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an honor to bring your name before the Lord. Thank you for
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joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, Paul
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put believing and not seeing right in the middle of a
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paragraph about dying. Bring him what you're afraid of today.
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Come back next time for more encouragement to help you live
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grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless and have a great
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day.
