5 Truths to Help Us Live in Peace and Not Fear

Life on earth is over in an eye blink. Everyone will die. The longest verified life is 122 years (outside biblical accounts of Old Testament characters including Moses and Methuselah); yet, compared to eternity, it was a moment. Scripture teaches, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14 NIV). 

King David of Old Testament times reminded us, “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144:4 ESV). He also used this comparison: “The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and is gone, and its place remembers it no more” (Psalm 103:15-16 NIV). This verse always reminds me of my mom and dad. They had a flourishing business for 40 years. They’ve been gone some years now, and their former business was demolished and replaced with another. The wind blew, and it was gone. How long will their business be remembered? How long will they be remembered?

Accepting the reality of our inevitable future death helps us let go of the illusion that, with the right choices, our life here is unending. Too often, I find myself pretending that my existence will go on as it is indefinitely instead of taking each moment as a gift to be lived fully. When we can make peace with this truth, we are free to find joy here and now—even on hard or monotonous days. 

Jesus came to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:15 NIV). Fear is a terrible slave driver. It robs us of joy and peace and causes us to focus on what is temporal instead of eternal. We can become so obsessed with staying “safe” that we lose out on the adventures God wants to give us—those unique to our time on earth.  

We can choose to proclaim as David did: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me” (Psalm 23:4 ESV). We may not know what tomorrow will bring or when we will die—and in a fallen world, the future holds many unknown sorrows – but we know God is always with us.

Jesus promised this gift: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you... Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27 NIV). When we cling to Him, we can have peace in our hearts, even when surrounded by pain and heartache. Jesus is the anchor for our souls. What a promise of peace amid life's storms, both present and future!

A close friend recently received a scary diagnosis. I can yield to fear or know that whatever happens, Jesus has her—and me—in His hands and will carry us through. Yes, hard times are inevitable, but how we handle hard times—and do or don't look to God—dictates whether or not fear is beatable. 

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While the choices we make do affect the quality of our lives and have the potential to lengthen our years, nothing we do can promise a long life. God is sovereign over everyone and everything.

King David wrote, “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16 NIV).  His son, King Solomon, known for his great wisdom, concluded: “As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death” (Ecclesiastes 8:8 NIV). Job, of ancient Bible times, learned this wisdom from his suffering: “A person’s days are determined; You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed” (Job 14:5 NIV).

Jesus Christ posed this rhetorical question: “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?... Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:27, 34 NIV).

God gives us free will. We can choose to waste our days, ruin our health, and even take our own life. But worry and fear will never add another day. Worry actually robs us of health and peace of mind. I could make every wise choice possible, yet I can’t guarantee I’ll be alive tomorrow. 

So, I choose to live wisely and be healthy but with the freedom of knowing our Father has all things under His control and care. 

God doesn’t view death the way we do. Psalm 116:15 tells us, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His faithful servants.” Our Father is waiting to receive each of His children with open arms. 

Because Jesus Christ died and rose again, conquering death forever, we can say, “Where O death, is your victory? Where, O death, where is your sting?... He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55, 57 NIV).

While we may experience grief, there is no defeat. Jesus has conquered death! Then comes eternal glory, where “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4 NIV).

5. God Wants Us to Live Now, at This Moment

Our loving Father does not want us to obsess over when or how we will die. How we live is more important than how long we live. 

We’re called to see each day as a gift, “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24 ESV). New Testament writer, Paul, calls us to “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV).

When we seek the Lord first, Scripture tells us, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3 ESV).

Instead of panicking over each new threat, we can trust our all-powerful God: the Source of love. We can receive each day as a gift, being present in all we do as we look forward to the day when we’ll be with Jesus forever in His perfect kingdom.

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