Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
O Lord, truly I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant;
you have freed me from my chains.
—Psalm 116:15–16
Even before we face physical death, as children of God, we have been called to die to the cravings and passions that grow out of our desires for many of the things of this world. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” (Luke 9:23–24).
If we do not allow transformation of the passions that grow out of the yearnings of the sinful nature, then a very real conflict will continue to create turmoil in our hearts, especially when God calls us to His purpose. As Christians, we are called out of fear for our life to be “strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6); and to “stand [our] ground, and after [we] have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:14). When we become disciples, we are embarking on difficult missions in a hostile world, but we should remember that we are not alone: In God we place our trust. And it gives us comfort to know that our “brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:9).
—Eric Kampmann, Signposts