One of the scariest things we may face in this life is when death seems imminent. We all know that death is unavoidable, but most of us do things every day to fend off death. We go to the gym, take vitamins or supplements, eat healthy, get regular checkups, maybe even take medications to alleviate conditions which could cause us to die early. But in spite of that, when we stand face to face with death, it can be downright scary.

            In today’s Scripture reading, three different people faced their imminent death unless God intervened. In Ruth, Naomi and her daughter-in-law had returned from Moab to God’s blessing in Israel. Yet they had no land, they had no husbands, and thus they had no provision. Even with the system in Israel whereby the poor could glean from the corners of the field, they faced a dire situation. God had prepared the heart of Boaz to provide for Naomi and Ruth. This provision was so great that not only did these women not face an immediate demise, the Bible says that Naomi would be provided for in her old age, and Boaz and Ruth were directly in the line of Jesus.

            The psalmist reminds us of the Egyptian famine, and how Jacob’s sons went to Egypt in search of food. Without being able to obtain food in Egypt, it was a slow painful starvation. But God had gone ahead and prepared a provision for them through their own brother, Joseph. Then, only a brief period later, the children of Israel faced a different demise through slavery in Egypt. Again, God provided in a way that they couldn’t imagine through one that the Lord had removed from them only to bring back into the picture after forty years. Moses came back and, by God’s power and intervention, delivered the people from their fate.

            But the greatest salvation comes through Jesus. In John, a nobleman’s son faced imminent death. He sought the Lord’s intervention, and Jesus provided. Down to the very hour, it was evident that the salvation was from the Lord.

            But in all of these situations where these individuals were spared from physical death, it was only temporary. However, while we will all face death, it doesn’t need to be something scary. Maybe we aren’t even scared for ourselves, but for our families, our children, those we leave behind. Proverbs 14 addresses this too. “In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.”

            Our relationship with God is what decreases the scariness of death. Might there still be some trepidation when my time comes? Certainly. But it is my hope that my walk with God is so close that I look forward to seeing him with such eagerness that my excitement overwhelms my fear. That won’t start the week before though, that relationship has to be being developed today. I can’t prevent death, but I can rejoice in that time that God is my salvation!