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Everyone should live life to the fullest. This means even a dying person should be given the highest quality of life for every living moment.
Table of contents
Steps
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Be a companion. Do not let a person die alone. Let them experience love and friendship as they pass. If the person is unresponsive, hold their hand and talk to them.
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Offer comfort measures. Contract a hospice nurse to provide pain management. Provide a special mattress to alleviate pressure. Offer water, but do not force hydration. If the person is incontinent, keep them clean and dry.
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Share courage. The transition out of this life can be a source of anxiety or fear. Offer conversation of faith and peace. Offer to read Scripture and pray.
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Demonstrate dignity and respect. It may seem humiliating to a person when they are incontinent or totally dependent on others for activities of daily living. Tell the person how you admire and respect them.
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Review life. Talk about times and occasions in life that were important to the dying person. Talk about humorous incidents. Talk about activities and hobbies that have been rewarding. Talk to family members about what they would consider the significant events of their loved one’s life.
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Listen. Don’t do all the talking. Don’t be afraid to sit in silence.
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Minister to the family. Bring in meals. Offer time for respite. Promise to be available during bereavement.
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Do not impose. Back off of any intervention that makes the dying person uncomfortable. Be thoughtful and considerate.
Community Q&A
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My husband is dying at home, and all I seem to be able to do is cry. Any suggestions?
wikiHow Contributor
Instead of focusing on the fact he is passing away, focus on making his last days at home the best days of his life. This might help him feel better about the situation, while helping you feel as if you have performed a good deed for your husband. For example, make his favorite dinners, take him to do things he always wanted to do but never got the chance. This can help both of you through this.
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Won’t bringing back memories just make them feel scared and unprepared to pass?
wikiHow Contributor
No, it will bring them peace to remember the happy times they had on earth. Focus on the good things that person did for others and the difference they made during their life.
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How can I help the spouse of someone who is dying?
wikiHow Contributor
Just be there for support. You cannot make it easier, nor can you stop the pain, anger and sadness that will come. Just be there.
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Could I help someone live longer?
wikiHow Contributor
It would be wonderful if we could, but we can’t. It is natural for us to begin to grieve a loved one when we are facing our loss.
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Tips
- Initiate hospice services sooner rather than later. Do not wait until the person is actively dying. Admit the person as soon as they are eligible for hospice.
- Most hospice organizations will provide a nurse, health aid, social worker, chaplain and volunteer services to a terminally ill person.
- Remember, every one of us will face the experience of dying.
- Don’t forget to bring in support, such as family or friends if you can with you as long as the person is comfortable.
Warnings
- Don’t brag about how your life is great , this will just make them sad and anxious and will also make the same experience harder for you, thinking about bragging and listening to it from some one else.
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I didn’t fully understand the depths of grief until the year my family lost two sisters and a brother within eight months. My brother-in-law lost a five-year battle with cancer, my sister died an agonizing death from a toxic clash of prescribed medications, and my sister-in-law died suddenly from a triple brain aneurysm. Before 2010 I had a head knowledge of death, but afterward, I’d been baptized by fire. As one family member eloquently described, “I felt like my body had been cut open and all my happiness pulled out.”
God comforted us through those horrible days in many different ways. Friends made hospital visits and attended funerals. Distant relatives emailed sweet expressions of sympathy. Fellow church members sent cards and casseroles. Our greatest source of comfort, however, was the Bible verses we read in the days surrounding our loved ones’ deaths. Here are 10 verses we found especially meaningful.
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One of the most difficult things to deal with in life is the death of a loved one. Even for the Christian, death is a part of life. Unlike they that do not believe, the Christian has a blessed hope – that is the return of the Savior Jesus to catch up His Church and bring them to eternal life with Him and God the Father in Heaven. Here are some scripture quotes about death that I hope will comfort you .
As He Promised, He Will Do
John 14:1-4 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”
Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Because of Calvary, We Live
2 Samuel 12:23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (King David speaking of his infant son who died)
John 11:23-26 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
In His Time, He Will Do
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
Philippians 1:23-24 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 John 3:1-2 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Safe In His Arms, Now and Forever
Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (Jesus speaking)
Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 14:8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Christian Quotes About Death
“They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies.” ~ Williams Penn
“When the time comes for you to die, you need not be afraid, because death cannot separate you from God’s love.” ~ Charles H. Spurgeon
“It is better for me to die in behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth.” ~ Ignatius of Antioch
“He whose head is in heaven need not fear to put his feet into the grave.” ~ Matthew Henry
“Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” ~ C.S. Lewis
Related Articles:
15 Comforting Bible Verses For Funerals
20 Bible Verses About Prayer
25 Bible Verses For Strength
25 Bible Verses About Love
Resources
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
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Ministry is hard, but one of the hardest situations a person can find themselves in during a lifetime of ministry is ministering to people who are dying. Not much explanation has to be done as to why this is; just visualize the scene. Someone gets diagnosed with a terminal illness, an elderly woman or man is on their deathbed, or even children who end up in the hospital with only weeks left to live. For the most part, they know they are dying so it can be difficult to speak with them due to their emotional state or the fact that it makes for a hard conversation. In other situations, most of the ministry is done for the family members who are actually in the room (because the person dying may not be coherent). Personally, I remember visiting an elderly man in the hospital who was given a very short amount of time left to live; his son was extremely upset and the man was barely awake and able to be spoken to. Yet, both of them were grateful to be prayed over and have Scripture read to them. In many of these situations, it can be a great idea to read from the Bible to calm and comfort. So, here are the top 7 Bible verses to read to the dying.
“A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Psalm 23:1-6 ESV
Psalm 23 is a common verse that people will read during their visit to someone who is dying. For the most part, it will be known by the person/family and sometimes they will even have it memorized.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV
Once again, although a common and sometimes (at least the way it’s used) cliché verse, it’s extremely applicable to someone who is dying. If they already know the Lord, it gives them assurance that they will be in Heaven with Jesus. If they do not believe, this can be an opportunity to share God’s truth with them.
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13 ESV
The way to salvation!
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” John 14:7 ESV
Jesus already prepared a place for the person you are reading to! How awesome is that?
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:1-5 ESV
This is what the person has to look forward to, so long as they believe in Jesus!
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” Hebrews 13:14 ESV
The person you are reading to can take comfort knowing that they are just leaving a temporary city for a more permanent one.
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28 ESV
There is certainly safety and security in Jesus’ hands!
Conclusion
Ministering to someone who is dying is extremely difficult, but it is a necessity and important part of ministry (especially pastoral). Don’t be afraid to go straight to God’s Word and let Him be the one who provides the comfort.
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