Life is Hard. We are Strong. God is Good.

The history of the church is full of people who were martyred for their faith, and they did so while praising God. They did not worry for their lives, but instead they overcame the fear of death. In the focus passage, Jesus is addressing the anxiety that comes with the fear of death – a fear that seems to pervade modern life. How do we have the kind of faith that overcomes this fear, the kind that resembles that of church martyrs? In this sermon, Dan Kent provides some practical direction to answer this question.

The first thing is to recognize that life is hard. To overcome the worries that come with the fear of death does not mean that we ignore the realities that we face in the world. In fact, Jesus said that this life is full of trouble (John 16:33). He himself was distressed and troubled (Matthew 26:27-29). We will face challenges, and we must truthfully look at those challenges in order to address the issues that we face.

Secondly, Dan points us to the truth that humans have an inherent strength about them to face challenges and overcome them. Humans are resilient. While God provides for the birds of the air (Matthew 6:25, they are made to face the life that they have been given and find the food that they need while avoiding predators) – we too have been designed to work through the challenges that come our way and see victory in the midst of them.

The third truth that can help us overcome the fear of death is that God is good. The image that we have of God in our brains is hugely important. If we do not view God as good, as being a deity that causes the circumstances that are challenging, then we will not find that kind of God inherently trustworthy. That kind of God is not actually God. But the goodness of God is revealed in Jesus, a God who did not cause the difficulties but came to overcome them so that we too can walk in victory in the midst of the difficult challenges.

Life is hard. We are strong. God is good. These are three key truths that can carry us through the challenges and help us live free of the worries that entrap the world.