Death, Dying & the Terminally Ill
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The last few weeks I have been thinking a lot about death, dying, and the terminally ill. Many times we are forced into these thoughts by an event in our own personal life. That is why I am experiencing thoughts of death right now. However, it is not time yet to organize my thoughts to give a well-thought-out essay on the process of dying or how to care for a loved one at the end of their life. But I have thought about how prayer and God’s Word can strengthen those who are grieving over the anticipated loss of a loved one or those dealing with their own last days. Below you will find some meaningful Bible verses relating to the terminally ill and those soon expecting the death of a loved one.
Verses for the Terminally Ill
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Psalm 49:15
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. Ecclesiastes 8:8
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.Isaiah 43:2
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. John 10:27-29
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live”, John 11:25
She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” John 11:27
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:1-3
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. Romans 14:8
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Philippians 3:20-21
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:1-6
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. Psalm 27:4-5
Verses for those expecting a Loved One’s Death
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Psalm 116:15
A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. Ecclesiastes 7:1
No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. Ecclesiastes 8:8
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah41:10
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. John 10:28-29
Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” John 13:7
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-54
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4
God Bless.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, be with all of us who dealing with the death of loved one or friend or the impending loss of someone dear. Give us your comfort. Give peace to those in the midst of a terminal illness. Let them accept your gift of grace and love to get through this difficult time in their lives. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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