I have a confession to make. Eternity frightens me. I know it shouldn’t. I don’t know why it does. But there are times when I am meditating or pondering on living forever and I literally lose my breath!

I’m not frightened that I may miss heaven. I know that Jesus Christ died for my sin and is a sufficient Savior! There is no pause within me whatsoever in terms of affirming that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. My heart at times is gripped not by the thought of missing heaven, but the thought of being there - forever.

That’s really strange because I’m really looking forward to seeing Jesus! That’s the greatest thing about salvation. We’ll see His face and be with Him. Beyond that there are many truly wonderful secondary blessings that accompany the glorious bliss of being with Jesus like the absence of sin, disease, and death.

So why am I so frightened? Maybe it’s just simply the unknown. I’ve never really known anything that didn’t have an ending! I don’t know how to comprehend or even think about life continuous, without an end. It’s mind boggling.

In those moments when I can’t catch my breath because the overwhelming thought of eternity weighs upon me, I simply remind myself that the only reason I’m struggling with the thought of eternity is because I haven’t been there yet! Once I arrive on those golden shores, in a new body, in the midst of unseen, untold glory, surrounded by celestial beauty, and captivated by the presence of God - I’ll never be frightened about eternity again!

Now that you know this about me, you can understand how excited I was to read this little book (5 chapters) entitled “Fear Not!” I imagine I’m not the only believer who struggles with hidden fears about death and the afterlife. It’s hard to admit that the one thing we as believers hold so dear is at times too much for us, even frightening.

As with all issues in life, the best place to turn is to Scripture. That’s where we find strength, grace, and truth. That’s where our faith is nourished to overcome our fears.

That’s why I was thrilled to read Fear Not!. I didn’t discover anything new, but it was good to be reminded of scriptural truth. It didn’t actually address my concern, but reading about eternity and everlasting salvation was a great comfort and help!