The Cure for Thanatophobia

Many, if not most, people are afraid of dying. Some people fear being dead. Others are afraid of the actual act of dying. However, if the fear is so prevalent as to affect your daily life, then you might have a full-blown case of what the experts call Thanatophobia, or the fear of death. Unlike many phobias that are triggered by specific incidents, thanatophobia may be constantly gnawing on the back of your mind. Many who suffer with this phobia report that their fear is worse at night, when they are alone in the dark and not distracted by day-to-day events.

I think it is fair to say that few people "welcome" death. Our physical bodies are such that they resists the efforts of death to rob us of life us and we fight valiantly to catch our breath though we may be suffering nearly unbearable pain. Such fear can become a bondage that keeps us from truly living!

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1 Corinthians 15:55

The story is told of a powerful man who was a Communist leader during the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. A newspaper editor and member of the the Politburo, he was an author of works on economics and science that are still being read today. One day in 1930 he addressed a large crowd in the city of Kiev on the subject of atheism, using insults and arguments to prove his convictions.

After one hour he completed his speech and looked across the crowd that had gathered.
"Are there any questions?" he asked.
It was quite for a moment but then one man approached the dias and shouted a well-known Russian Orthodox greeting: "Christ is Risen!"
The crowd, which had fallen silent during the speech, rose to it's feet and responded in the classic answer to the greeting: "He is Risen Indeed!"

I guess you can tell a man whatever you want, but you can't squelch the faith that grows in the heart! So, as we approach this April weekend with its memorials of the first Easter, we take time to honor the visitation, some 2000 years ago, of that man named Jesus. He didn't just come to die; his death was for a purpose. He was God wrapped in flesh and he came to "deliver them who through FEAR OF DEATH were ALL THEIR LIFETIME subject to bondage."

He didn't just conquer death, but also the grave. He came to set you free! He came to take the victory out of death and the sting out of the grave. He IS the cure for thanatophobia!