November 13

and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. — Heb 2:15 BSB

It’s not a sign against you if you are afraid of death or feel bondage. It’s not a mark against your faith. Isn’t it God’s children who feel the weight of this bondage? And didn’t Jesus come to free them from it? Are you any less of a child of God because you fear death? If you had no sense of sin or a tender conscience, you would be indifferent about death like most people. But your very fears and longings for deliverance are signs of life within you. The day will come when the Lord will take away those fears and doubts. As you near the end of your journey, He will be with you, delivering you from the fear of death. He will take away its sting, defeat the grave’s victory, and you will be able to shout “Salvation!” through His blood, even when nature feels weakest and death seems closest.

Oh, what a blessed Savior we have! What a heavenly Friend and Mediator stands between a holy God and our sinful souls! What love He showed by taking on our flesh and blood. What grace in enduring the agony of the cross for us. He laid down His life for us, bearing the weight of our sins and the wrath of God. If He did all that for us on earth, will He leave His work unfinished in heaven? He may have brought you to life, made you aware of your sin, taught you to seek His mercy, given you hope, and applied His promises to your soul. Yet at times, your conscience may still feel imprisoned. But this is only to make room for more of His grace, to reveal more of His willingness and power to save you to the fullest.

Just as Adam’s fall was overruled by God’s wisdom to reveal His eternal love and grace, so your doubts and fears will be overruled to bring you closer to Christ. These struggles will help you lean less on your own strength and more on Christ. You will come to know more deeply what Christ is to those who seek His face and rely on Him alone.

Anyone who thinks they can live and die without an intimate knowledge of Christ will never truly seek Him. But the one who knows that only Christ can save their soul and cover their sins will constantly cry out for His salvation. They will find no rest until Christ appears, but when He does, they will bless and praise Him with joyful hearts. And oh, what a glorious victory that person will be, a trophy of Christ’s eternal triumph over sin and Satan, reigning with Him and all His saints in everlasting joy!