Learning To Die Well

How have you dealt with the reality that you are going to die? How does that truth affect the way you’re living today?

The Bible speaks often about death. In Psalm 90, Moses prayed:

"Lord, you have been our home since the beginning. Before the mountains were born and before you created the earth and the world, you are God. You have always been, and you will always be." (Psalm 90:1-2 NCV)

It’s incredible to realize that God is an uncreated being. He was not made. He simply is and always has been. That alone is a huge stumbling block for many, and I completely understand why.

Moses continued in his prayer:

"You turn people back into dust. You say, ‘Go back into dust, human beings.’ To you, a thousand years is like the passing of a day, or like a few hours in the night." (Psalm 90:3-4 NCV)

God’s perspective on time—and death—is so vastly different from ours. I believe with all my heart that to Him, for those who trust in Christ, death is not the end. It's coming home. We must reconcile that in our minds and hearts.

Moses went on to pray:

"Our years end with a moan. Our lifetime is seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. But the years are full of hard work and pain. They pass quickly, and then we are gone." (Psalm 90:9-10 NCV)

If we are spared from disease or accident and remain strong, we may live long lives. But even then, the years pass like a breath.

Moses closed with this plea:

"Teach us how short our lives really are so that we may be wise. Fill us with your love every morning. Then we will sing and rejoice all our lives." (Psalm 90:12,14 NCV)

I believe with everything in me that when we are able to see the final page of our earthly life, and—without fear—turn that page into the next chapter, into eternal life with God, only then have we truly reconciled death.

The Apostle Paul echoed this in triumph:

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55 NIV)

And today, with all the NDE (near-death experience) accounts out there, I firmly believe that God can call our soul home before our body feels death’s full weight.

I believe this is exactly what happened with my mom when she passed. I believe her soul quietly left, free from pain, free from the sting, as her little body simply rested.

Death is not a period.

It’s a comma.

It’s a doorway to something beautiful.

LORD, help us see heaven even as we are leaving earth. Please bless us, even in our dying moments. IJNIP Amen. ♥️