The Fear of Death

663- Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 22:5-7, 'When the waves of death surrounded me, The floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 6 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears. (2 Sam 22:5-7) David now starts to recount some of the reasons that he spews forth the praises of God, his deliverer. He starts with the many times he looked death in the face , as his enemies sought to kill him. Like breakers in the ocean, death seemed to be in relentless pursuit of him. There was no escape from these situations, and he honestly admits that at times, he was afraid! Sometimes he was obsessed with the thought of the close quarters of the grave, (the sorrows (cords) of Sheol, (the grave) surrounded him) This claustrophobic obsession was like a roadblock, (that's the idea of the word “confronted” here.) it's like a roadblock that stops you in your tracks. The solution? Send an S.O.S. To God. Call out to Him. He hears and is pleased to deliver you from your fears. As Christians we should take heart from this passage. If a brave warrior such as David can be gripped at times with a fear of death, it can happen to us as well. This fear of death can immobilize us and lead to great anxiety and panic. It can strike us at anytime, but is usually prevalent during times of upheaval in our lives. This fear can even cause us to doubt our faith. I mean shouldn't a Christian welcome death and yearn for heaven? Why this great fear of being cooped up in a grave? Well know this my friend, it is only the natural reaction of our flesh. It becomes problematic when it sets up the roadblock and won't let us get past it. When David found himself facing this roadblock he knew what to do. In his distress (his soul squeezing) he called upon the Lord, confident that the Lord would hear him and remove the roadblock of obsession. May God give us that same confident reliance upon Him, whenever fear immobilizes us.