Are You Afraid To Die?



On the 4th of July we were on our way to Santa Barbara to ride bikes on the beach, have dinner, and watch the fireworks. During the drive I had a lot of time to think. I began to think of how my husband, Joe, is not afraid to die. How his only fear of death is leaving us behind. When he told me this I was awed by his faith. He knows he is going to heaven.

I know we can be assured of our salvation and I know for sure, -- but did I really know? Did I really believe? I had doubts. I had fear. I had always been afraid of death, since for me it was the big unknown – and something I didn’t like to think about.

But we shouldn’t live in fear. Fear is a lie, --the opposite of what God tells us.
God tells us to have hope, not fear. Hope lasts forever: - hope, faith and love. God tells us not to worry about anything! So while remembering to give my worries to God, I prayed silently in the car on the way to Santa Barbara. I asked God to take away my fear of death. And while I was still praying I saw a vision of Jesus bent down over my dead body. His hand was reaching out to me and He was saying, “Take my hand, I paid your price.”.

Wow, what comfort!! There was no fear in that vision, but extreme comfort!!. And at that moment I realized that when I die I will see a familiar face, - that of Jesus! I realized that death doesn’t have to be the big unknown. The more we spend time with Jesus now, the more we will get to know Him and develop a relationship with Him, and the more familiar and comforting the thought of dying will be. Jesus is here for us now and He will be there for us at the moment of our death as well. What do we have to be afraid of knowing that Jesus went ahead of us and has prepared our way?

To back up this incredible experience, I went to my regular church service one Sunday in August and the message was titled, --“Five Minutes After You Die”. The pastor spoke about how the apostle John had a vision of heaven and how Jesus was reaching down to John’s body. The most important thing about John’s vision, the pastor said, was that Jesus was there. The message was so familiar and so similar to my vision. God has answered my prayer! I am no longer afraid to die because I know that Jesus is there --- waiting for me!

This testimony is written by Nydia Furnish Mendez, who lives in Camarillo, California with her husband Joe and their three children, Camisha, Devon, and Kaily.