The Shadow Of Death

Perhaps the darkest valley people think of is the end of life here on earth. We see death as separation from our loved ones and that makes us sad. That is an appropriate emotion and we shouldnt be ashamed of it. Jesus wept when he heard His friend Lazarus had died (John 11:35). But the Christian doesnt grieve like the non-Christian because of our hope for eternity.

We can take comfort from this verse for a couple of reasons. One, we know that death is an experience the Christian walks through. It is not a permanent condition. In fact, God looks at death from a completely different perspective. Psalm 116:15 says "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones." I believe that when the Christian dies, he/she enters into an even more enhanced relationship with God than we have ever known when we were alive. We begin enjoying a relationship with Him we have longed for while we were alive. We are no longer subjected to the ravishes of sin.

The second word that gives me comfort is "shadow". A shadow cannot hurt you and because of what we have mentioned above, we know that death, for the Christian, is not harmful, but something we pass through as we enter another phase of eternity. We are eternal beings and the "shadow of death" is one of the experiences we pass through.

One of the passages I always turn to as I face the death of a friend or loved one is I Thessalonians 4:13-18. That passage refers to death as falling asleep. It tells us that one day "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord." The Christian can take great comfort in those words. It is a promise we can hang onto and to which we can look forward. It is our hope.

In the normal course of life you will see those you love walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I encourage you to remember these verses, share them with others and to be comforted with them.