Anyone who has read the Bible has no doubt, come across the many ways we are told to not fear. We read that we are to “fear not. Why are you afraid? God has not given you the spirit of fear… Do not be afraid. Cast your cares. Worry is sin. Trust. Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you where ever you go. Have I not commanded you?”

So many ways and times are we instructed against fear, and here we are, in a time where fear seems to be the new religion. It’s as if fear is the wolf, cloaked in sheep’s clothing. The clothing is currently being called “wisdom, care, love” among other names.

We have collectively come face to face with perhaps what is the most common fear of all- death. I am seeing death as more of a door these days. Of course, it’s sad and even traumatic for people left on the other side of that door, but the way I see it, I am either on this side with Jesus, or the other, with Jesus. It’s a win/WIN. I win here. There, I WIN! So there’s quite literally, no need to fear.

I remember telling my sister Sherri, before our sister Kerri passed away on my birthday in 2015, “The enemy is a fool. The enemy is threatening our sister with Heaven. Whooooo, you’re going to meet and live with your Lord forever more! You’re gonna see Him and Jesus face to face! You’re gonna see all the loved ones you have missed, children you didn’t get to carry and raise… Whoooooo”. How stupid is that? When I said it to Sherri, we even chuckled a bit at the sheer idiocy of it.

For Kerri, it was either that reality, or stay here on earth and be healed. Again… “Whooooo”. I mean, she was already here, struggling, but in faith for her healing. She inspired and encouraged many throughout her journey. She did well.

Of course, we miss her every day. She was the sister I was closest to at that time. I have now decided that I will be popping her on her butt when I see her for the sleep I missed when she died on my birthday. I was in shock and didn’t sleep at all. I didn’t believe she would die. She knows how I feel about my sleep. Anyway, my sister won and she won big. So did our oldest sister, our father and brother. They all won and are enjoying themselves as they pray for and join in watching us with the other cloud of witnesses.

This time of immense fear upon the earth has been a great teacher for me. At the beginning of covid, when I started to slip into the fear of the unknown, I heard Abba ask me what I was looking at. It was a stark reminder that once again, I’d taken my eyes completely off Him, to behold and dwell upon the plans of the enemy. “What you focus on is what will expand in your life” is a phrase I won’t soon forget that my former pastor, Dr. Mike Freeman says.

Listen… I seriously thank God that He speaks. I can’t even express how grateful I am to actually hear Him. To have Him interject a moment of despair. To have Him break right through, interrupting thoughts that are not of or from Him, in order to steer me back on the path He has set before me… HALLELUJAH!!!! There are no words…

Another thing that keeps coming to me is how many speak of losing consciousness before impact of some tremendous physical pain or trauma, especially prior to death or near death. Consider for a moment how people get into accidents of all kinds, saying all they recall are the moments before the thing occurred and then waking up in the hospital.

Even with my husband’s experience in May of 2019, he remembered that I took him to the hospital but was shocked to learn that upon waking up, he’d been unconscious for the better part of a week. He thought it was the same day and remembered nothing.

This all makes me think of how Jesus said he conquered death. Death is said to have no sting. Why then, do we not believe it when He said it and all the signs of just that are present?

God is bigger than it all and has conquered all for us. There’s nothing left out of all. We either believe Him or we don’t. The wonderful thing is, when we feel ourselves slipping in fear, He can help us come out of it. We aren’t stuck there. We are even commanded not to stay there. God gives us the grace we need to accomplish what He wants each day, one day at a time. We needn’t fear. God is bigger than it all.