+Judith Ann McGraw +

Psalm 46 NKJV

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song For Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

John 14:1–6 NKJV

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

1 Corinthians 15:51–57 NKJV

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why Should Christians Not Be Anxious, Worried, When Faced with Death?

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (v 1).

Jesus used these words a few hours before his death to instruct his disciples in how not to be troubled by death. He doesn’t ask us to forgo sorrow. He does not ask the impossible. Jesus is truly human, so he knows our human emotions. He, of course, is aware of the power of the resurrection, and yet, he still shed tears at the death of his friend Lazarus. Nevertheless, he urges his followers not to be troubled. How can that be?

Why Should We Not Be Anxious, Worried,

When Faced with Death?

What were the reasons Jesus gives His followers for comfort at a moment like this? He gave three.

Because God is really here for us to believe in.

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God”—God, who created us and all that exists, who is the Almighty, who numbers the hairs of our heads, who clothes the lilies of the field, who knows when a sparrow falls to earth. He loves us more than all the things he created. He gave his only Son into death for us. We can believe in God, who made and loved each one of us, to be with us. He made and loved Judy.

The second word of comfort Jesus gives us at a moment like this is:

Because Christ is a real Savior for us to believe in.

“Believe also in me,” Jesus said.

There was a time when Jesus visited the sisters of Lazarus, who died a few days earlier. His calm assurance was “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (11:25–26).

Watch as Jesus is crucified, and hear him say, “ ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (19:30).

Believe that the death of Jesus paid for all sins of all time. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7).

Hear the Easter message of the angel: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay” (Mt 28:5–6).

Judy believed Christ gave her life, life to the full, in his resurrection. Judy’s life was a witness to that faith.

The final word of comfort Jesus gives his followers at a time like this is:

Because there really is a place prepared to believe in.

Then Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (v 2).

It’s foolish to think we fully understand this picture, but we know this word of promise comes from the one who is the way, the truth, and the life.

We give thanks for Judy’s earthly life and her Christian witness. We rejoice in Judy’s victory, the gift of eternal life, and the crown of righteousness she will wear for all eternity. “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim 4:8).

That’s for us. Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:19–20).

Jesus promises that he will be with us to instruct us in our living. And, in showing us how to live He will do the following for us:

To strengthen our faith—so that we are not troubled by things we cannot understand, but will trust in almighty God, who made us his children through faith in Christ. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn 1:12).

To strengthen our hope—We, too, know the way, as we continue to listen to his words of truth and life. He is the one who has us in his plan, in his arms, in his love. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6).

To strengthen our love—to care for one another as Christ cares for us, to help us. “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. . . . We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:14, 19).

This is how Jesus comforts us and all his children. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 Jn 5:14).

May we now, and at our last hour, trust in the comfort Christ has promised!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.