God’s Word is full of truths that give us peace about this life as we anticipate the next. Instead of living in fear of death, we can put our faith in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life ( Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16). As we grow in our spiritual walk with the Lord, we can be confident about our future with Him (1 John 5:13). Death has lost its “sting”, and we therefore have no reason to fear it ( 1 Corinthians 15:55). In fact, Christians’ deaths are temporary because we have been promised a resurrection; spiritually speaking, we are only “sleeping” when we die in this life ( John 11:11, 13 ). To depart from our earthly body is to be "at home with the Lord" ( 2 Corinthians 5:8). Lastly, we can leave this earth with more peace knowing that we stewarded our time well in service to God with the precious life that He gave us (Philippians 3:13-14; Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 6:19-20).
It is natural to fear death . The topic of death brings to mind thoughts of pain, sadness, and separation from loved ones. However, the Bible’s wisdom about death can comfort us and lessen our anxieties. Philippians 4:6 makes clear that if we are anxious about something, we should bring our prayers to God. In fact, in Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus welcomes us to cast our burdens on Him. As we fix our eyes on the One who is sovereign over even death and remember that He is with us, loves us, and strengthens us, we can face the reality of death. Practically, some anxiety can be alleviated when we take care of the loved ones we will leave behind by preparing a legal will, making funeral arrangements, and buying life insurance . We can also do our part to steward our bodies well by maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, getting rest, and avoiding harmful activities like smoking; though death is inevitable, we’re called to be take care of the temple of the Holy Spirit (physical body) (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Ultimately, God is the one who has the power to take away our fear of death. Those of us who know Him can live with great anticipation for our afterlife in which we will forever be in His presence ( 1 Peter 1:8-9).