The Sweet Dropper

Eight or so years ago I went with an elder to visit an elderly widow on a blistering cold day (much like today). She had recently moved closer to one of her grown children and had been coming to our church with her family. On this get-to-know-you-better kind of visit, I knew what to expect. This elder and I had good teamwork in these situations. He is affable, warm, quick-witted. He sets a good, engaging kind of tone to these visits, and I bring the heavy artillery. I usually asked the question or made the comment that moved things from friendly chit-chat to more serious and spiritual directions. But on this day, I was surprised. The widow gave a clear and credible testimony of her faith in Christ. She said that frequently she thought about death. While she was not afraid to die, she said she was often afraid of dying. “I wonder sometimes if I have the strength and courage to face the process,” she said.

Before I could formulate a response, the elder (usually the silent partner at this point in the conversation) spoke up and answered better than I could. “O you don’t have to worry about that. When you need that grace, the Lord will give it to you. You feel like you don’t have it right now, but you don’t need it right now. It’s like manna. It’ll be there.”

Reading Edward T. Welch’s Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest reminded me of that cold afternoon. In one chapter Welch teases out our specific fears of death: fears of eternity, fears of the way you might die, fears of hardship for loved ones, fear of the unknown, and fear of judgment. He addresses the second fear, fear of the way you might die, like my friend and fellow elder did that day. Let me share Welch’s version with you.

You can’t trust in technology, because technology is one of the problems. You can’t trust in pain management, because medications don’t always cut through the pain. There are no other options. Your God has fenced you in so that your only option is to trust that he will give you grace.

What has this grace looked like in others?

• Grace to believe that God is good.
• Grace to have joy even while the body is wasting away.
• Grace to cry out and be certain that God hears.
• Grace to know that you are not alone.
• Grace to trust rather than fear.
• Grace to know that death is not the end.

Welch also points to the manna principle (Exodus 16:16-19): God will give us what need for today and just for today. Fears and worries thrive in the future and imagine that future without Christ present. To thwart our tendency toward self-reliance, God has determined to give us only what we need when we need it. He wants us to trust him in the future rather than our self-protective plans.

At times I will feel as though I am forsaken or surrounded with no way out. But God is not distant or silent at these moments. He is teaching me to call out to him and trust him. Remember something I preached recently: If dependence is the objective, then weakness is the advantage.

Here’s a short video from Ed Welch about Running Scared: