Five Minutes After You Die: It Was Worth It

by David Chadwick

What happens five minutes after you die? You will have an immediate awareness of your surroundings. You will see Jesus face to face. You will experience eternal, perfect peace. It will be like awakening from a deep, restful sleep.

What else? You realize it was worth it.

What was worth it, you might ask? All that you walked through in this life!

How? You will see the providence of God working in your life. You will find out why he let certain things happen to you. You will see the full picture. You will no longer see in part and know in part. You will fully understand and fully know the fullness of God and the glorious presence of fellowship with Jesus!

This is so hard to comprehend on this side of eternity while we are still living in the midst of so much pain, uncertainty, hurt, and brokenness. When we are experiencing so much chaos, it’s hard to even comprehend that it has a purpose. But the Bible says that God is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).

I have often joked that I think the most often spoken word in heaven is “Oh!” as God reveals to each of us how he was working out his purposes in our lives for his glory.

That is what Romans 8:18-24 means when Paul says that everything here that is groaning in pain will have it all alleviated in heaven. That our current sufferings pale in comparison to the glory that is coming.

It’s what Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 when he said our present difficulties are “light and momentary” in comparison to the eternal glory of heaven. Think about it: our pain has tremendous purpose in light of God’s eternal plan.

God always has purpose in the pain. In the victories. In the trials. In the successes. In the tragedies. All things are working for our good and his glory in this world. In the first five minutes in heaven, we will say, “Oh! It was worth it! It was ALL worth it!”