What's the worst that can happen?

On nearly every missions trip that involves travel, there's at least one person that feels anxious about traveling, fear of flying.  In reality, it's not a fear of flying but a fear of crashing they're struggling with.  I try to assure them that I've been on many trips, traveled in many planes, been on boats and I've never died in crash.  Then I typically follow up by saying something like, besides, really, if something did happen is that the worst thing?  We just get there quicker, right?  Perhaps not the most reassuring thing to say in the moment, but I believe it's true.  I've heard stories of missionaries and met pastors who have had their days cut short for the sake of the gospel.  Did they fail?  Of course not.  I'm in no hurry to enter the other side of eternity, but I know that it's a reality for me (as well as every other person).  And quite frankly, I do look forward to the "not yet", experiencing God without the limitations that I currently have.    

John Wimber used to say, when it's all said and done dying is the last, worst thing that everyone of us will face. As Christians, we need to recognize that it's also the best thing.  Going to heaven is what we signed up for, right?

Truth is, recognizing and reaffirming that death no longer has the final power over you goes along way in defusing the anxiety that exists around the issue.  The pain in a loss carries another burden to it tho, doesn't it?  We question if God's good, does He care ?  There are times when God chooses to do things that seem contrary to what we believe His will toward us ought to be.  By accepting the tension between what we know and what we don't know yet, we can begin to let go of the anxiety.