My Fear Has Gone!- What Happens When You Are No Longer Afraid Of Death?
Should we be afraid of death? Janis Cox explains how she no longer fears death, now that she has put her trust in Jesus!
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The Changes God Has Made
This week was spent helping my daughter around their home. As I worked at scraping the old paint from the window sill and then applying new paint, I thought about my life.
As the paint came off bit by bit, sometimes with difficulty, sometimes easier, I thought of all the changes God has made to my life since I decided to follow Jesus. The biggest paint chip reminded me of the fear I had of death. God removed that completely. That fear had kept me physically safe but also kept me secluded and controlling.
That fear of death kept me from trying anything new, even if it wasn’t associated with dying. It brought with it irrational fears. One such fear was my fear of heights. Even a ladder became daunting. As I knew I needed to get rid of such irrational fears I thought back in my life to why this had become a terrifying experience. I recalled a story of my great-grandfather falling from a roof and dying shortly after that. I wondered if that had brought on my fear of heights.
Overcoming Fears
As I thought and prayed about that, I read a Scripture about fears: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4, NIV)
As I sought the Lord’s counsel He showed me to put my trust in Him and not allow my fear to control me.
This past weekend I climbed to the top run (which was the 4th one) of the step ladder and I stood steady at the top. I could work on that window and feel no fears. As I balanced myself I realized that my fear of heights had truly been banished. My fear stood in my past. My trust in God stands in my present.
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No Longer Afraid Of Death
God has shown me that He has saved me from death; that He has a place set aside for me with Him in Heaven. Because of His grace, Jesus broke through the barrier and allowed us the freedom to return to a loving relationship with God.
Now that I know and accept this, my life has changed to one of love and peace rather than fear and control. Scripture abounds with words to tell us that we do not need to fear.
Check out Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Instead of letting my fear overwhelm me I turn to God. He is the only One that I should fear. Fearing God is being in awe and in reverence before Him. Letting Him be the One to guide and show me the way.
I read from Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
That was the judgment. Yes we must toil and there will be struggles. But God has told us that He will crush Satan’s head, even though he strikes at our heels. Jesus has overcome Satan and we share in His victory.
Why We Don’t Need To Be Afraid Of Death
Listen to Romans 16:20:”The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
Satan is doomed. We are not.
With that in mind, we can overcome our fears. When the fear of death is removed all irrational fears can be seen for what they are – irrational and not real.
We can take heart in knowing Jesus has won the battle – Satan is vanquished – GONE – He has no power over us. We can live free from fear in that knowledge and be filled with the love and joy of Christ.
Until next time, let’s all put our faith and trust in Jesus, who, by the grace of God, conquered death and allowed us free entry back in to God’s presence.
Janis Cox
In 2001, Janis gave her life to Christ. She started journalling as a way to organize her thoughts, feelings, and prayers. She is a member of two cross-Canada Christian writers’ groups, The Word Guild and Inscribe Christian Writers Fellowship. She has had several articles and devotionals published. Janis has been a regular contributor to HopeStreamRadio since its inception in 2015. Contact us if you have any questions about the Bible or Christianity.
Janis has been blogging since 2008. In 2012 she published an award-winning children’s book Tadeo Turtle. She ran a group blog called Under the Cover of Prayer for four years. Hope Stream Radio will be her first foray into broadcasting on a regular basis.
In addition to a career as a home-maker and teacher, Janis was a partner in a Canadian small business with her husband, Wayne. They currently reside in Ontario and winter in Mesa, Arizona. Janis and Wayne have three children with spouses and many grandchildren.
One of her favourite things is to tell others about what God has done and is doing in her life. Janis can be reached on her website, Growing Through God’s Word, on Facebook and Twitter.
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Images courtesy of:
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Ladder- paul_harrison
Cross- dimitrisvetsikas1969
Gloria says
Thanks greatly Janis ..more grace as you continue in God’s work