3 of 3

As I have said many times, nobody lives forever in these bodies, and unless the Lord Jesus Christ returns first we will all die. But God told us that a seed can't grow into a plant or a tree unless it first dies. Therefore, when we pass from this life, we will pass on to a more excellent and expanded life, as we enter eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ, creator of this universe (see John 1 :1-5 and Genesis l:1-31).

Afraid to Die
It has been my observation that as human beings we all have, to one degree or another, a fear of dying. I think it's built into us.

Our families fear that we will die, and that places a great burden on a cancer patient. One of the ways to overcome this fear of dying is to face death straight on. Let me give you an example.

For a long time I had a fear of flying. However, I did not realize that until I joined the Air Force and was flown from Florida to San Antonio, Texas. It was the first time I had flown, and I found that I didn't like being in the back of the plane while some pilot was totally in control of my life. It probably would have been okay with me if somehow I could have been up front and in control; then I might have loved flying. But my personality didn't lend itself to passivism.

One of the ways I learned to overcome my fear of flying was to face it over and over and over again. Since then, I don't know how many miles I've flown, but I'd say it has been in excess of a million miles. Now I enjoy flying. I don't like flying in bad weather, being fogged in, or having mechanical problems, but I no longer fear flying.

When an aircraft breaks the sound barrier, it soars with freedom. A Christian must break the death barrier while living, so that he or she can live without the haunting uncertainty and fear of dying. I accept my mortality as a fact of life. Perhaps as a younger person I chose to ignore it, but once you get past the halfway point you become more realistic. Furthermore, once you have cancer, you recognize that there's probably much less time left than what you have already spent.

The fear of dying is normal, but it must be faced, and the fear must be conquered. The way fear is conquered is to face it through faith in Jesus Christ. His promise to us is that "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

Your family must face fear with you. Fear is contagious, and if just one person around you is continually bemoaning your circumstance and is living in fear, it will spread throughout your family.

You must nip that sort of thing in the bud—through your faith—because faith is also contagious. When those around you observe you demonstrating your faith in Jesus Christ and see that you're willing to stand up to whatever it is God has for you to face, including this cancer, they're going to catch this attitude as well.

Even if you can avoid dying from cancer, you'll certainly face something else that will eventually kill you, because all of us are going to die. As good as modern medicine is, it is not the ultimate answer. It will let you down. Trusting God is the answer. He will never let you down.

Excerpted from Nothing to Fear: The Key to Cancer Survival, © 2003 Moody Publishers. Used by permission.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

first page |  3 of 3

share this page

July (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47