This is perhaps the ultimate terror:  to be lost and alone in a hostile land where the next man you meet wants only to kill you.”
–Gen. Harold G. Moore

“Christians are not citizens of earth trying to get to heaven–but citizens of heaven making their way through the world.”
–Vance Havner

I hesitated to write this Paine because of the subject.  However, the thoughts kept coming back to me along with particular circumstances that I was aware of that were taking place.  It is a subject that is real, yet most folks do not want to deal with it.  It is a subject that affects all of us in one form or another.  That subject is Death.
It is imperative that we realize the devil and the world does not want us to serve and worship God.  They do not want us to recognize that Jesus is Lord.  Their goal is to destroy and kill, not only the body, but the soul.  Jesus came, died, was resurrected to overcome this evil agenda.  Yes, death will come to all, but to the believer in Jesus after death there is eternal life.  The following is an excerpt from my book soon to be published, “Trails in the Wilderness.”
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There is a wilderness that I hesitated to mention.  It is a place of mystery and foreboding.  It is a place that every person who ever traveled the trail of life had to face or will have to face.  It is the wilderness that many do not even want to mention or think about–Death.
Surviving the desert, the rugged mountains, the jungle is one thing, but no one survives that final wilderness journey of death.  Oh, in the bright days of life we may mock death by words and actions.  “Tip my hat and take my last ride.”  And in reality that is a good way to face it, but many do not.
This wilderness may not be your own, but surely one day it will be, but it may be the loss of a dear loved one or close friend.  That in itself is a special ordeal.  Sorrow is a wilderness all of its own and everyone who faced the death of a loved one must deal with it.  No one is exempt, but the faces of sorrow and the depths of the mental and emotional working that sorrow brings comes in many forms.
As Christians we most certainly believe as Paul, “to die is gain,” however, facing it is another thing entirely, whether in ourselves or others.  Some call it “crossing the Divide,” others “crossing over Jordan,” those terms in themselves declare the struggle of crossing through experiences that may be faced in the wilderness.
People mockingly joke, “He is so heavenly-minded that he is no earthly-good,” but perhaps this is an answer or a help to work through the wilderness of death.  Since the road on the journey of life stops, the answer lies on the other side of the veil.  To meet this properly it would be good to have proper reflection on heaven and realize the brevity of life on this earth.
Yes, it is a mystery.  What is it that is needed to face this new journey?  I would say four essential things.  First, a pure heart, one that has been changed by the spiritual regeneration of the Holy Spirit.  Second, the trust in the Word of God.  God will do what He says.  Third, that great requirement of the Christian life and walk–faith.  That coincides with knowing and trusting the Word of God.  Fourth, hope, the wondrous hope in the promise of God, in heaven itself, knowing that Jesus is preparing a place for us. 
Someone once wrote, “An eternal hope is the oxygen of the soul.”  As we require oxygen to live this life on earth, perhaps it is hope that brings life to the soul to cross the wilderness of death; to cross over into life eternal.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
–Matthew 5:8 (NKJV)

Now I’ve been around a few years, more than half a century, but I cannot recall such a confusing time. There were the times of unrest and riots of the 60s-70s, that group of hippies, but now there is definitely a split. It’s not anything the nation hasn’t seen before, remember the Civil War? Half for this, half for that, half for Trump, half not for him. It’s a mess, and the worst part of it all is that Christians are involved with the confusion. However, every year begins somewhat the same. People have no real idea what will happen during the year, so we enter every year with faith and hope, not fear and despair.

“I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live from day-to-day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine, For its skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er the future, For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him, For He knows what is ahead.”
–Ira Stanphill

That’s the whole key; walking beside Jesus. He knows what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, or next month. He knows the challenges–the good and the bad that is going to come our way. If we truly believe; if we truly trust, then why all of the fretting and fear? Look at the fears we carry and we find that most all of them are over material matters. Think, the One who conquered the grave is there with us each step we take.

“Ev’ry step is getting brighter, As the golden stairs I climb;
Ev’ry burden’s getting lighter; Ev’ry cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining. There no tear will dim the eye.
At the ending of the rainbow, Where the mountains touch the sky.”

Part of the issue is that we really do not trust Him. One of the reasons, not all, but one reason that things do happen is for Him to prove Himself to us. He loves bringing His people out impossible situations. Listen, He cares for you, for me. He will never leave us alone.

“I don’t know about tomorrow, It may bring me poverty;
But the one who feeds the sparrow, Is the one who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion, May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me, And I’m covered with His blood.

Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know who holds my hand.”

Perhaps that is the problem. Perhaps we are reaching out to grasp something that is not the hand of the Lord. Perhaps we are depending on others, on the government, even the church–we need to hold the hand of Jesus.