“My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:9-11).
Death is a topic that we’d just as soon not discuss. We don’t want to think about it, and when we happen to think about death, it often fills us with fear—even as Christians.
Despite that fear, you and I can rest secure in this life—no matter what. At the moment of our deaths, we know that our bodies also will rest securely because of our Savior Jesus. We know that our bodies will not be abandoned to the grave.
Why? Because God did not abandon Christ Jesus to the grave. God did not let his faithful one see decay. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we know that we too shall rise.
This much is true. This much we know with all our hearts through faith in our Savior Jesus and the unbreakable promises he makes in his Word.
There is great comfort in knowing where the road through life leads. Home in heaven. And we have great comfort in knowing that we do not walk that road alone.
That is one of the blessings of being part of the family of believers. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are walking this same road alongside us. They are here to comfort and support us, to help us along until we reach our journey’s end. And we can do the same for them. The joy of a believer—the privilege—is to point a loved one’s closing eyes to the cross—at all times in this life, but especially in the final moments. Hold it fast.
But there is greater comfort still that our God graciously gives to us, his children: a promise. And that promise is this: He is not simply waiting for us to make it home to heaven. He is not twiddling his thumbs up in heaven, passing the time while we struggle through the pains and trials of life.
From God’s Word, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that even though we walk through the darkest valley, we have nothing to fear, because God is right there with us. He comforts us with the unbreakable promise that he will never leave us or forsake us. He is with us every step of the way, because he is the Way and the Truth and the Life.
I pray that will always be our attitude toward death. There is nothing to fear—death is simply how we get home to heaven. But if our bravery fails us and our fears persist, then we will turn back again and again to the comfort found in our God’s Word—the unbreakable promises he has made to us. He will not abandon us to the grave because Christ lives! God will fill me and you—and all Christians—with joy in his presence forever.
Dear Christian, through all the valleys, even the darkest of valleys—that final, frightening valley on this earth—God is with you. Always. And he isn’t going anywhere. All because of Jesus.
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At different stages in our lives, we may react to the thought of death in different ways—with a shrug of our shoulders, with a frown, with huge amounts of worry, with tears, or with fear and anger. No matter what our thoughts of death may be at the moment, God comes to us in his Word to embrace us with his promises, which alone hold us up during that most difficult part of life’s journey. Popular NPH author Richard E. Lauersdorf expands on those words of comfort in God’s Children Never Die.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House and a 2023 graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. He enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation with his family.
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