He Taught Me How to Face Death: A Tribute to Dr. David Powlison
My journey into biblical counseling and pastoral ministries was not via the typical path. I went to seminary after Bible college with the hope and goal of pastoring. The Lord presented an opportunity for me to pursue a master’s in counseling while doing M.Div. work. The counseling degree I ended up with was not a biblical counseling degree. I left seminary not even knowing such a thing existed.
In 2005, by God’s providence, He orchestrated an opportunity for me to start a counseling practice in a biblical counseling center. There, I was retrained in the ways of biblical counseling by some wonderful mentors. It was there that I was exposed to a wonderful host of men and women in the biblical counseling movement whose writings and instruction turned my world upside down (in a really good way)! David Powlison was probably the greatest voice the Lord used in my life in those early years of my counseling and pastoral ministry.
The past several months, I have gone through different notes I have taken over the years from David’s writings, lectures, teachings, and encouragements. Many of those notes were scribbled during Biblical Counseling Coalition gatherings. I always felt a bit like a stalker, but I would try to sit near where David was sitting so I could glean from his life-giving gospel worldview. Re-reading these notes I have collected over the years has filled my heart afresh with the hope of our great Lord Jesus Christ.
The first time I heard David speak was at the 2007 NANC (now ACBC) Annual Conference. I attended his session called “Facing Death .” I went to the session thinking I would be better equipped to help others who are facing great sorrow and death. I left the session having come face-to-face with my own mortality but with a greater hope and assuredness in Jesus Christ than I ever had up to that point. For this blog, I wanted to share some of the takeaways from Dr. Powlison that I wrote down during his session.
Reckon with Your Dying Now
As David made this point, he did so emphatically. He said that we could never help people face death, much less equip other counselors to help people face death if we have never faced this ultimate life fact for ourselves. He read sections of Psalm 90 such as, “you turn man back into dust” to make his point. David said this: “We rightly proclaim that in Christ we have been delivered from death and from the power of sin to kill us. But, we live our lives under the conditions of wrath because we die. Death is no friend. It is the final enemy.”
I remember feeling my heart drawn into something that felt a bit foreign. You see, I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease way back in 1994 when I was 14 years old. Several times my health was in such a low place that the prospect of dying was made real to me. It is too much to go into for this blog, but the short of it is that God has used Crohns Disease profoundly in my life. That day, as David shared about some of his health struggles with heart surgery, the Spirit was drawing some fearful and shameful areas of my soul into the light to be ministered to by Jesus.
As David was talking on this point, God was using his words to help me see undealt with fear and shame in my heart around the ever-present implications of disease and sickness. Fears and doubts I had wrested with like, “Will my kids all have this disease?” and “Will this disease take me out of my family’s life early?” These and several other questions had historically clouded my soul and outlook. They were carefully guarded areas that I had not fully let Christ into. Through David Powlison, God was gently calling me to face these realities and fears and not bury them.
Christ Alone Brings Life from Sin and Death
David used Ephesians 2:1-10 to speak to the reality of our spiritual condition apart from Christ. In a word, it is death. Facing the physical reality of death should bring a person to consider the spiritual implications of death. We are all experiencing the reality of a darkness of a world gone wrong. This is all because of sin, and the payment of this sin is death. Death is no friend, and as David said, it is our final enemy and final loss.
This dark reality is what makes the good news of Jesus Christ such good news. David said it this way, “In Christ, there is an inexpressible gift of life both from sin and from death.” Death may get the last stab physically speaking, but in Christ, it is merely an ushering into the Kingdom of Light. We are made alive together with Christ, and death on earth simply brings us into the full reality of this truth with Jesus.
It was at this point in his session that the shackles of fear that I had so long carried because of my disease began to fall off. The power of the gospel began to take front and center in my heart and thoughts towards Crohns Disease, suffering, and death. In fact, I remember reading 2 Corinthians 4:16 not too long after David’s “Facing Death” talk. It says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” It was almost as if I had never read those verses.
As big and bad as the disease had been in afflicting my physical body, through Christ, it has absolutely no say on my soul. Talk about seeing with new eyes. I felt gratitude and worship in the deepest parts of my soul. It was as if David was calling to a scared, fearful, and insecure young boy to come and rest in the eternal and indestructible life of Jesus Christ. I felt strength in the gospel in ways I had never experienced to that point in my life.
Foretastes of Death Leading to Ultimate Hope
At this point in his talk, I remember being overwhelmed by the all-encompassing power and grace found through the gospel of Christ. I would have said before hearing David’s talk that a person doesn’t mature past the gospel. I was getting to experience that reality as David continued to teach us. During that hour, it was as if God was carving new caverns in my soul to deepen my reverence, dependency, and understanding of the holistic work that Jesus accomplished on the cross.
David read from Psalm 23, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” He gave a profound explanation of what these “shadows” are in life. He said this, “A way to face death well is by facing all the small dyings in life. These are all foretastes of death, which is a foretaste of what is coming.” These shadows are a lesser version of the real thing. So, things like weakness, disease, loss of career, and every other form of suffering are a foretaste of death. This point affected me more than any other. He was giving us permission from Scripture to mourn biblically. As we mourn, we come face-to-face with the reality of where our hope lies.
There are a thousand landing points of how this hope revealed plays out for a person, but David boiled them down into two categories. “Either hope is in something (ultimately death will destroy) or hope is in something that is preserved in heaven for you, unfading and indestructible.” He asked, “Is the hope you have preservable?” This was a soul-inspiring revelation for me. It means there is great opportunity found in mourning biblically. We can bring our honest sorrows, fears, and disappointments before the Lord. He deals gently and gracefully with us as He reveals areas of misplaced hope that are being exposed in the face of loss and suffering. And then from there, we bring our hope back to Christ alone.
David closed the “Facing Death” session with a very helpful and pointed statement. He referenced 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. To comfort as having been comforted is only possible for those who have faced the reality of their own mortality and yet placed their hope firmly in the one who has conquered our final enemy. Jesus experienced death by faith, believing the Father would raise Him from death, and now through Him, we can have life after death. David closed by saying this, “If we learn how to face death well, we, in fact, will live life well and be able to love and comfort others who are facing suffering and death.”
I learned that day that my ministry must flow from a place of having been ministered to by the life, hope, comfort, and healing that only comes through Jesus Christ, the anchor of our soul. Thank you, God, for using your servant David Powlison the way you did in my life and the lives of countless others.
Questions for Reflection
I will leave you with the questions Dr. Powlison asked us to consider during his talk:
- What have you lived for that is now perishing in front of you? What does it reveal about where you place some of your hope? Is the hope you have preservable?
- When you encounter sin, sorrow, or suffering (shadows of death), how do you process those things in your heart? Do you mourn them? If so, how? If mourning biblically is not a regular part of your relationship with God, then find promises of God that draw your heart into tender consolation and comforting care that only God can bring.