Are you afraid of dying?

It’s 2022, and things don’t seem very different to me. There are still mask mandates, travel warnings, and forced vaccinations. Yikes! I feel like I’m in the movie Groundhog Day. Most of the media discussions and political decisions seem to be reruns of last year…but worse. There is something rising up inside of me that’s screaming, “Enough is enough…I’m not afraid!” 

For the first three centuries after the resurrection of Christ, Christians faced persecution and death every day. Even that ploy did not stop the Church from growing, expanding, and preaching the life-saving Gospel of Jesus. Paul boldly came to these conclusions: 

1. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31, NIV) 
2. “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6, NIV)  
3. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, NIV)  
4. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NIV)  

The Apostle Paul discovered the secret to a fearless life: he no longer feared death. In fact, he said, “For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal body.” (2 Corinthians 4:11, NIV)

Are you afraid of dying? I’m not. That fear left me while I was in the back of an ambulance. My spirit and soul were bouncing off the top of the ambulance as my vitals faded under the vigilant eyes of the medics. They screamed, “Mr. Goulet, stay with us!” While they screamed, I watched in complete peace with no pain. I realized that I was dying and that there was not one thing I could do about it. I remember feeling the presence of heaven very close to my consciousness, so I asked for one thing: “Father, if You let me return, I’ll give it all away…”

The Father graciously allowed me to return, but I returned changed. I don’t fear anymore because “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18, NIV)  

Would you join me in the fearless life? You have nothing to fear in death. God is real, and heaven is waiting for you if you’re His. The fearless life is a miraculous life!