Experiencing mortal danger

II Corinthians 1:8-10 (NLT)

We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.  In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.  And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and He will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us.

Have you ever had an experience in your life where at the time you felt that you would never live through that experience?  To differing degrees, we all have.  We all have experienced periods of time where you knew that you were helpless to do anything to change or remedy the situation.  Anyone who has faced a near-death experience or who has suddenly lost something vitally important to you knows what Paul is talking about when he states, “But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God…….”

The Message Bible says it this way:  “As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he's the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he'll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don't want you in the dark about that either.”

Have you ever been in mortal danger?  If so, you are alive today because of God whether you acknowledge Him or not.  You might ask, what about those who do not survive mortal dangers, did God not care about them?  I think about soldiers killed in war, innocent victims of 9/11, victims of natural disasters, crime, and/or disease.  I think about missionaries who are doing the work of God like Paul, yet they do not escape mortal dangers.  Of course, no one on earth can answer that question.  If you choose to allow the lack of an answer to this question to adversely affect your faith, frankly you’ve made a bad decision.  It’s a far better position to accept God’s sovereignty.  If there is survival from a near death experience, give Him the glory.

This passage reminds me of Matt Lemmons who courageously faced his terminal cancer before passing away at a young age.  Throughout his suffering, he consistently wrote in his CaringBridge blog that whether God would provide a miracle for him to survive or God would not, his faith in God was unquestionable either way.  Like Paul states in this passage, Matt expected to die, yet stopped relying on his own resources and learned through his time of fear and doubt to rely on God.  God did not rescue Matt, but Matt made it clear that he accepted whatever God’s will was.  Matt knew that he was going to heaven and that faith sustained him.  He was a wonderful Christian role model for all who knew him.

If ever you experience mortal danger, may you be a Christian role model too.