Death eludes no one. We may not enjoy thinking about death, but unless we grasp its reality, we will fail at life.
Psalm 49 does well to help us fight off fear of the triumph of bad fortune. The rich and poor alike will someday no longer physically exist on the earth. The smart and stupid alike will face the grave. The beautiful and not so beautiful will see the same fate. The foolish fail to recognize the futility of earthly gains in wealth, power, pleasure, and prestige, but the wise surrender to God’s supreme authority.
We do not have to fear even the tyrants who are bent on destruction They too will soon pass. We also do not have to fear the loss of beauty, position, and reputation, when our trust is in God Almighty. He is our protection and provision. Our heavenly Father looks out for us far better than we can even look out for ourselves. The Psalmist puts it this way,
“So why should I fear in bad times,
hemmed
in by enemy malice,
Shoved around by bullies,
demeaned
by the arrogant rich?
Really! There’s no such
thing as self-rescue,
pulling
yourself up by your bootstraps.
The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
and even
then it doesn’t guarantee
Life
forever, or insurance
against the Black Hole.” (Psalm 49:3-9: The Message)
There is One who came to rescue. Jesus is our Refuge. Jesus conquered sin and death, and now lives to bring us into eternal safety. “But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death, he reaches down and grabs me” (Psalm 49:15; The Message). The Bible shows us that Jesus conquered death once and for all. When we trust in Jesus for our salvation from this earthly mess, death no longer has its hold on us. We can live in the security of Father’s house, eternally, starting right now. To find out more about how Jesus did this, read 1 Corinthians 15:50-57.
A phrase repeated throughout the Bible is “fear not.” Jesus himself often spoke this command to his closest disciples. When God is near, we have nothing to fear. When Jesus is Refuge, our security is huge. When Holy Spirit is leading, on green grass we are feeding. Faith drives out fear. Let faith arise. Faith arrives, and fear disappears, the more we focus on the heavenly in place of the earthly things.
When it looks like the grave may be the end of it all, we do well to heed Christ’s words recorded by Luke, “straighten up, and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). Because God is near, there is no need to fear. If we are surrendered to him, we are secure in Refuge.
by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry
