Ready to die

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. - Psalm 23v4

I have to admit that I am at the age where I think occasionally about death. According to one of the many death calculators on the internet I am going to die on 1 July 2032. Another one (I like this one better) says I will die in 2036-37. Another one specifies 15 August, 2037. Chances are that short of an accident of unexpected illness these are pretty accurate. If things go well I probably have another 25-30 years left. That can be a little scary, because even 1981 seems like yesterday!

I think we fear death because it is the one great unknown. I have heard all the stories and read the accounts of those who supposedly died and came back, but in reality we really don't know what it is going to be like. Our view of death is based only on faith. Therefore, it is always just a little scary.

And yet David tells us how to have confidence. We may go through 'the valley of the shadow of death' during our lifetime. There may be times when we have to look death in the face. A little over a year ago our Michelle was very much in that 'valley of the shadow' of death. We did not know from day to day if she would make it to the next day.

So what do we do, how do we handle those days?

We must find comfort in words like David uses here. 'Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me,' David writes. The shepherd's rod fought off the enemy. His staff drew them from danger.

We may not make it through the next valley of the shadow of death. Even then though we can trust in the Shepherd's rod to guard us and His staff to rescue us to our ultimate rescue. We need not fear the prospect of death, for our Shepherd will not let us face it alone.