‘‘Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.’’ Psalm 23:4
Here is the truth about death:
(1) It’s a sure thing. The story is told of a hypochondriac who put these words on his gravestone: ‘Now maybe you’ll believe I was sick.’ Seriously, if you’re wise, you won’t obsess about death, but you will prepare for it.
(2) It’s a sojourn. The word ‘walk’ means each step you take brings your departure date one day closer. The word ‘through’ tells you it’s only a temporary passage and not your final destination. The word metamorphosis pictures a humble caterpillar being transformed into a beautiful butterfly that can soar. Likewise, the Bible describes your new body in these words: a) ‘Incorruptible’, meaning you will never again contend with pain or sickness (see 1 Corinthians 15:53). b) ‘Immortal’, meaning you will be ageless and incapable of dying (see v. 53). c) ‘Shadow’. Now, a shadow might frighten you, but it cannot harm you. Indeed, the only way to have a shadow is to have a light shining. Don’t you find it interesting that many of the people who have died and come back tell others about emerging from a tunnel into a bright, celestial light? No wonder we need ‘fear no evil’. Why? Because the Lord is with us, and He has conquered death, hell, and the grave. Jesus said, ‘I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of the Lord is with us, and He has conquered death, hell, and the grave. JeDeath’ (Revelation 1:18). Rejoice; the key to your eternal destiny is not in your own hands or anybody else’s but in the hands of the One who loves you.
