{"id":30297,"date":"2011-11-22T20:47:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-23T02:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=30297"},"modified":"2021-01-11T20:50:26","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T02:50:26","slug":"im-afraid-of-growing-old-and-dying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-afraid-of-growing-old-and-dying\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m afraid of growing old and dying"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I’m going through a time right now of fear and turmoil.\u00a0 Fear of growing older and dying.\u00a0 It’s a paralyzing fear that I can’t seem to shake.\u00a0 I\u00a0 know it has to be a lack of faith. I don’t want to fear.\u00a0 I want to trust in what God has promised me.\u00a0 I also know that the kind of fear that I’m letting take hold of me is condemned in the Bible.\u00a0 I pray for God’s forgiveness, and I also ask for your prayers.\u00a0 Can you give me any words of encouragement?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Fears generally come from not knowing what to expect. The first day at school or the first day on a new job is often difficult because you don’t know exactly what to expect or what is expected of you. You haven’t been old before and certainly don’t know what the next life will be like, so it is expected that there would be some nervousness about these things. See: Overcoming Fears<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, to live in this world means we will die. “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment<\/em>” (Hebrews 9:27). And the longer we avoid death, the older we will become. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day<\/em>” (II Corinthians 4:16). And therein Paul hints at the solution.<\/p>\n

This life isn’t the end, it is a short waypoint on the journey to eternal life. Remember the old song, “This world is not my home I’m just a passing through\u00a0…”? “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth<\/em>” (Hebrews 11:13).<\/p>\n

When we reach heaven’s shores, it won’t be in the mortal bodies we currently reside in. “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven<\/em>” (II Corinthians 5:1-2). Our new bodies won’t decay and we won’t die.<\/p>\n

So don’t focus on where you are. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable<\/em>” (I Corinthians 15:19). God promised His children a better life to come, and God always keeps His promises.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I’m going through a time right now of fear and turmoil.\u00a0 Fear of growing older and dying.\u00a0 It’s a paralyzing fear that I can’t seem to shake.\u00a0 I\u00a0 know it has to be a lack of faith. I don’t want to fear.\u00a0 I want to trust in what God has promised me.\u00a0 I also…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[109,775,352],"class_list":["post-30297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-death","tag-elderly","tag-fear"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":48855,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-afraid-of-being-in-a-relationship\/","url_meta":{"origin":30297,"position":0},"title":"I’m afraid of being in a relationship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day sir, I appreciate all you do to help people. Most importantly you do this only to please God and not man. I am in my 30s and I know I should be married by now. A major factor for being unmarried yet is nuclear family financial responsibilities.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30951,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-suffer-from-mental-illness-was-my-baptism-legitimate\/","url_meta":{"origin":30297,"position":1},"title":"I suffer from mental illness. Was my baptism legitimate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Much love to the Brethren at La Vista and to you brother. You heard from me a few years ago. My situation is much better than before, but I still have struggles and questions. I suffer from Autism, SchizoAffective, and BiPolar Type 2. Recently, I was rebaptized as I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36177,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-deal-with-the-fear-that-my-dad-may-never-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":30297,"position":2},"title":"How do I deal with the fear that my dad may never change?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello Bro. Hamilton, I just need some clarification about a situation. My parents are not members of the church of Christ, but I am. We went off and on when I was growing up but stopped because my dad didn't take us anymore. However, we went back, and I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5250,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-overcome-the-fear-of-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":30297,"position":3},"title":"How can I overcome the fear of death?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Mr. Hamilton, Is there a way to become unafraid of death? I have been terrified of dying since I was very young and sometimes it consumes my thoughts. I fear the concept of being put in a box in the ground unable to move, think, feel or talk\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43285,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-know-if-my-feelings-were-genuine-when-i-received-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":30297,"position":4},"title":"I don’t know if my feelings were genuine when I received Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You may not know me, but I have seen what you wrote and you seem wise. I ask that you give me a genuine answer. Here goes pouring out my heart's doubts: I am not sure that I have received Christ. I don't know if my feeling was genuine\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44398,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-fear-judgment-but-im-not-sure-god-exists\/","url_meta":{"origin":30297,"position":5},"title":"I fear Judgment, but I’m not sure God exists","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am not a Christian, but I force myself to believe in God because I fear Judgment. I always shiver and cry because I don't know if I will go to hell or heaven. My fear is so strong that I became depressed and desperate for a few weeks.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30297\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}