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Our lives are in God's hand (His will). If God's going to take us in death-He's going to take us in death and there's nothing anyone can do to prevent it. He may use a virus to carry out His purpose, or He may use a disease like cancer, or any one of a number of diseases and afflictions. Or, perhaps, He may take us in a vehicle accident (that's maybe not even a result of our own driver error) or He might take us through the evil actions of any one of the sinful people (all of us) who are all around us everyday. Add to all the other innumerable ways people have died in this world and you should get the idea of the enormous number of weapons at God's command to take us out in death, if He so decided it was time for that to happen in our life. The truth is, and it's always been the truth, that we live our lives completely at the will and allowance of the God of the Bible:

Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Likewise, if it is God's will NOT to take us in death today. Then no virus will kill us. Nor ugly disease. Nor evil action of man. If its not God's time table to take us away from this world, then we could be a passenger on a plane that crashes wherein every other passenger dies, but we survive. Why did everyone else die but not us? Simply because of the will of God for the time table of our lives.

Let me say what I'm trying to say another way, if God wills to take away our life today, or tomorrow, etc, it will happen and no manner of precautions will stop it. But, if its not God's will to take away our life today then nothing in this world can change that.

Of course, the real issue for all of us is our spiritual condition. If we are not one of God's elect, saved by His grace and by the faith of Christ, then we'll certainly fear physical death because deep down we know we're in trouble with God and once our life ends in this world-that's it. We're dead and all of our earthly treasures and all of our enjoyment of earthly pleasures is over and done with. We lose everything because we perish and go to nothing.

On the other hand, if we are one of God's elect and He has saved us by His grace through the faith of Christ (and not our own) then, though we die physically we cannot die in our soul existence because God has given a new soul that will live forever:

John 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

Upon the point of death the soul of God's elect goes to be with the Lord in heaven, where it waits for the last day, the day of the resurrection. And then we receive a new resurrected body which is joined back together with the already resurrected soul and we become one whole personality once again who lives in the presence of God in the new creation of a new earth and heaven forevermore. Obviously, since the Bible teaches these things concerning God's elect, they have learned not to be fearful of physical death as physical death only serves to bring about their change like a caterpillar changed into a butterfly. And, it is because our physical death brings the elect people of God tremendous eternal blessings that this allows them to have a completely different mindset about it than do the rest of the people of the world:

Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

This Scripture is not exaggerating the situation or speaking foolishly in anyway. God moved the apostle Paul to speak absolute truth and an absolute fact. It is indeed better for a person whom God has given a new heart and soul to-to die than live. Because, as we all know, living in this world is full of sorrow and afflictions and suffering. But, someone God has saved, their death would carry them away into the glorious perfect and holy kingdom of God where they would dwell in the Great King's very presence in total joy and peace and comfort. So, of course, its better for such a one to die and go to be with God than to live as a lowly and typically despised (by the unsaved) servant of Christ in this world.

Yet, Paul also was moved to write this as well:

Philippians 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

The desire to depart and be with the Lord is understandable. But, if it be God's will for us to continue to stay here and live in this physical body, then so be it. May the Lord's perfect will be done. We try, by the grace of God, to live our lives to the fullness for His glory. And to live our lives to the fullness means to do things God's way. To keep His commandments and to follow His Word. As we're able to do so, by His Spirit's moving within us to will and to do of His good pleasure, our lives then become a vessel wherein others are blessed through the witness of the Word of God which we carry as His messengers.

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