Oh Death!

There was a time when death felt… distant.

Rare.

Like an unwelcome visitor that only appeared every now and then before quietly disappearing again.

But now?

Death feels aggressive.

Relentless.

Loud.

Everywhere I turn lately, somebody is gone.

Left.
Right.
Front.
Behind me.

Young people.
Healthy people.
Good people.
Praying people.

Some died suddenly.
Some quietly.
Some from sickness.
Some from reasons so simple, so random, so mundane, it almost angers you more.

And if I’m honest?

I’m tired of death.

Tired of hospital calls.
Tired of condolences.
Tired of funeral announcements.
Tired of watching families crumble under grief.
Tired of hearing, “Did you hear who passed away?”

Death has been casting a long shadow lately.

Over churches.
Over families.
Over timelines.
Over our hearts.

And sometimes the shadow gets so dark that people begin asking the question:

“Where is God in all this?”

Where is He while mothers cry?
Where is He while children grieve?
Where is He while caskets keep lowering into the ground?

And if we’re not careful, pain can make us feel like Heaven has gone silent.

But I don’t believe God is absent.

I believe Heaven aches too.

The Bible says Jesus stood outside Lazarus’ tomb and wept.

Not because He lacked power.
Not because He had no answer.

But because human suffering touches Him deeply.

Hebrews reminds us that we do not serve a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. In other words, God understands grief intimately. He sees every tear. He hears every trembling prayer whispered through heartbreak.

And while we may not always understand His ways…we can trust His heart.

Because the same God who allowed tears…also promised resurrection.

That’s the hope I cling to when death feels too close for comfort.

And lately, one song has been echoing through my spirit.

“Oh Death” by MercyMe.

Sarai and I can barely stay still when it comes on.

Not because we are untouched by grief…

but because the lyrics sound like holy defiance.

Like believers staring death in the face and reminding it: “You don’t win.”

Especially when they sing:

“Oh, death, I will not be afraid
In the end you will lose
I will dance on your grave
With the One who buried you…”

Whew.

That part does something to me every single time.

Because isn’t that the Gospel?

Not that we won’t grieve.
Not that we won’t cry.
Not that loss won’t wound us deeply.

But that Jesus already stepped into the grave…
and walked back out victorious.

And because He lives,
death no longer has the final word.

Then comes the line that grips my heart the most:

“Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of you
I know I’m just passing through…”

My God.

Death may cast a shadow…

but a shadow is proof that light still exists somewhere nearby.

And for the child of God, this valley is temporary.

We are passing through.

That is why I refuse to surrender completely to despair.

Because one day, the Bible says death itself will die.

No more funeral programs.
No more ICU rooms.
No more final goodbyes.
No more tiny caskets.
No more grieving children trying to understand where Grandma went.

Just life.

Eternal.
Whole.
Beautiful.
Uninterrupted life with Jesus.

And maybe that’s why, even in my frustration with death…
I still hold tightly to God.

Because if this broken world is all there is,
then grief would crush us completely.

But thank God this isn’t the end of the story.

So yes…

I’m tired of death.

Angry at its fury.
Exhausted by its reach.
Bitter over the pain it leaves behind.

But I am not hopeless.

Because one day, with resurrection in our bones and joy replacing our tears…

Sarai and I really will dance on the grave of death…

with the One who buried him.

You can listen to “Oh Death” here:
MercyMe – Oh Death

Here’s a sample…😌