WITH LONG LIFE

• DAY 77
• Fear File: YOU 
• Scripture: Psalm 91:16

With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.

Thanatophobia

There are several psychological theories that place the ‘Fear of death’ (Thanatophobia) as man’s greatest fear. Let me break it down. Basically, most people are afraid that they are not going to live long and so they’re anxious about dying. Some are anxious because they feel they’re not ready to leave this world yet, and others don’t know where they’re going to end up.

This fear is often triggered by a traumatic experience, the enemy then latches on to that traumatic experience and begins to inspire thoughts of death. For example, if they lost somebody close to them, a friend or a family member, they may begin to feel like they too might die. Or maybe it is that many people around them are dying; or that, coincidentally or not, people from their family die at a particular age, and they are approaching that age. It doesn’t matter how small, the enemy uses that information to begin to feed them with thoughts of death and that leads to fear.

Another way the fear of death comes is by sickness, especially terminal illnesses. Typically, people who are terminally ill are afraid of dying and the people who have had terminal illnesses run in their family might live in fear of it. 

A Case

When my sister was fighting cancer, she had to deal with this fear. Some days she woke up feeling like she wasn’t going to make it, she couldn’t sleep most days because she was scared she wouldn’t wake up. Interestingly, I began to feel afraid that she might die. I was not the one on the sick bed but I still had to battle the fear of death. I had to speak the word of God over her and over me too.

In one of our studies of Psalm 91, we talked about ‘night terrors,’ fear of death also causes it. It makes one afraid to sleep, and when sleep finally comes, this fear torments them in their dreams. It affects their everyday existence, making them afraid to do anything. And what the enemy wants you to do at that moment is to confess that feeling or to even acknowledge it verbally. Which alone can give it the power to manifest itself in your life.

Your tongue

Because the truth is, much like faith and belief in Jesus, if you don’t confess it with your mouth, you won’t experience it. So the enemy tries to get you to believe it so much that you speak it into existence. But this scripture tells us that with long life, he shall satisfy us. There are two things in that Scripture that I want you to know: ‘The long life’ and ‘the satisfaction’. Long life means you will not die before your time. And if you’re afraid because of somebody, this Scripture is also telling you that they will not die before their time. 

A close relative of this fear is the fear of living a frustrated or difficult life. There are people that live in fear that they’re not going to live a comfortable life because it seems as if there’s always one problem after another and they feel like that is how they’re going to suffer for the rest of their life. This scripture also has an answer for that. 

Better Days

Listen, I know that life situations can sometimes make it difficult for you to believe that there will be better days ahead of you. But the Bible says that;

“The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts” -Haggai 2:9

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” -Jeremaih 29:11

So if the enemy is projecting a dissatisfied, miserable life on you, then you need to start changing that.  You need to start aligning your expectations with the desires of God so that your end can match up with the desires of God. So instead of expecting one misery after another or a pain-filled life, you should expect God’s will and intent concerning your life. You should dream, imagine and proclaim a life that is not filled with pain or loss or darkness or trouble. 

Befitting Living

My father-in-law says this phrase; “the goal is befitting living, not befitting burial, befitting living is more important than befitting burial. God has promised you a befitting living, so you will not live a life that is miserable or riddled by one sickness or the other. Many great men, even from the Bible and some of the great inventors we know didn’t all get to live long. However, they lived a fulfilled and satisfied life, and they met their end according to the thoughts God had for them. Everyone meets their end so there is no point living perpetually in fear. Why not live in joy and happiness? Never give the enemy control of any outcome of your life.

When my sister won the battle against cancer and went to be with Jesus, I was distraught, I struggled with doubt and questions ‘Was it the will of God for her to die young?’ No, it’s not the will of God for someone to die young. She was in so much pain that God decided that the best way to heal her was to take her home, to be with Him. Now, I do not have the answers for why she died, and neither do I have answers for everything, but I realized that God is wiser and smarter. God might be calling someone home because He sees that if the person stays on earth, the person might face a terrible ordeal. 

The truth is that the earth is temporal and everybody and everything that lives must die. We’re all going to transition to be with Jesus in glory. And I know some people might want to be like Enoch who transitioned without death, or go by rapture, but no man knows when Jesus is coming, so while Jesus tarries, most of us are going to leave this earth through death. 

Not The End Only The Beginning

And God forbid that you give the enemy control of that. God forbid that you give him glory for your transition to be with Jesus. I need you to understand that God has not called you to die young, nor has He called you to live a miserable, hurt, and broken life. So, if you lose somebody, I need you to know that as long as they believe in Jesus, they are in the bosom of the Lord. Don’t let the enemy dampen the joy of going to be with Christ with fear. I know it may be difficult to think about leaving the world, and it may be even more difficult to live in it miserably, that is why I want you to hold onto this scripture like a lifeline. Whenever you begin to feel afraid, declare as a reassurance to yourself and a reminder to God that He ‘said’ you will live a satisfying life. 

Declare

I silence the voice that is speaking in my heart and in my spirit right now. That voice that is saying that I’m going to live a miserable life and I’m going to die before my time. I present the Word of God concerning me that I shall not die, but that with long life, God will satisfy me. I establish the promise of long life concerning my life by the authority that’s in the name of Jesus. So you, lying spirit of fear. I cast you out of my mind and out of my life and I declare that you have no foothold in my life in the name of Jesus. I shut every door that gives you access to my life by the blood of Jesus. And I declare that I am free today in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Shalom.