I think you are right on both counts, the fear of Allah is the start of wisdom and we should try and do what is right.
Death is inevitable, there is no escape for any of us, but do we have to live in fear of death? Because fear is a choice, we can choose to live in fear, or we can choose to search for peace.
In 2011 I had tests done for cancer, about a month later the doctor phoned and said he urgently wanted to see me, it was non – Hodgkin Lymphoma. This was a name I recognised, our friend had this cancer, and died a few months later. I prayed for the wisdom, strength and peace to do God’s will, whether the cancer was a death sentence, or just an inconvenience. I can only say that from the moment of making this prayer, I have experienced a profound sense of peace, and the thought of cancer has never troubled me for a moment.
Cancer could be a truly worrying process, you wait a month or two for tests, you wait for the results, and you wait for more tests, but the prayer to do God’s will sort of handed the problem to God, and I have never had to worry. I have never once prayed for healing, at the age of 62, the prayer for healing seemed too complicated, people in their sixties die all the time from cancer, it might or might not be my time to go. Recognising this profound sense of peace comes from God, gives me reason to be thankful.
I could not imagine this sense of peace without a faith and trust in God. I can only say, from the moment of hearing about my cancer and making that prayer, I could talk about cancer in the same way as I talk about going shopping.
The point I am trying to make is this, even if the doctors were to say that 60 % of people with this cancer live, they can’t tell you whether you are going to be one of the 60 % that live. You will have to live with a lot of uncertainty over a period of time, this is why I prayed for the wisdom, strength, perseverance and the peace to do God’s will, whether the cancer was a death sentence or just an inconvenience. There is a peace from God that transcends all understanding.
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