And this is dying: Joni Eareckson's near death story | Radio | Joni ...

Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to "Joni and Friends."

And Joni and Friends receives a lot of letters from listeners ? some of them touching on some interesting topics. Not long ago, I received an email from Nancy, a woman who learned that she had a terminal illness with only a short time to live. Nancy had never really thought about dying much before that, but now, she found herself thinking about it every day. As a Christian, she had every confidence about her home in heaven ? it was just getting there that scared her. Would she panic? Would she lose faith at the last minute? How will she react when that frightening time finally arrives?

In a very small way, I identify with Nancy?s feelings about dying, because I once had a very close brush with death. It was on that terrible day I dove into the Chesapeake Bay, crunched my neck, then floated helplessly paralyzed, facedown in shallow water. Someone once asked me, "Didn't you panic when you were in the water? You were running out of breath ... weren't you frightened?"

?Strange as it may seem, I wasn't frightened. And the thing is, I knew that I could only hold my breath for so long (it wasn?t like I had taken a deep breath before my dive; I thought I would just dive in and quickly resurface). But, lying facedown in the water, it was clear to me that in less than a minute I would lose breath. I knew that water would then flood my lungs! But, in the few seconds that I realized what was going to happen, a deep and powerful peace prevented me from feeling overwhelmed by fear.

Many years later, I would read a verse in the Bible that helped explain that peace. Psalm 68, verse 20 says that, ?Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.? You see, when it comes to dying, our sovereign Lord is an "escape artist." What do I mean by that? Listen to this anonymous quote by a Christian brother. He says:

?All that pertains to deliverance from death, all that prepares for it, all that makes it easy to be borne, all that constitutes a rescue from its pains and horrors, all that follows death in a higher and more blessed world, all that makes death ?final,? and places us in a condition where death is no more to be dreaded ? all this belongs to God. All this is under His control. He only can enable us to bear death; He only can conduct us from a bed of death to a world where we shall never die.?

God is the one who will help Nancy on that final day. It all belongs to God. The Bible may call death the last great enemy, but even that dreadful enemy must submit to our sovereign Lord. And for me, looking back on that day when I dove into shallow water and was floating facedown ? as it turned out, my sister Kathy miraculously rescued me just before I drowned.

Only heaven will reveal the countless times we escape death every day. Psalm 18 says, "The cords of death entangled me ? In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help." ?What?s required of us at that fateful time we step into eternity? That we cry to God for help. And, I have a little help for you, as well, in a wonderful 14-page booklet I just wrote called ?When is it Right to Die?? Just go to my radio page today at joniandfriends.org ? and tell your Facebook friends about this special offer, too, especially if those friends are facing serious questions about death and dying. Help is there for you at joniandfriends.org.

? Joni and Friends

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Source: http://www.joniandfriends.org/radio/5-minute/and-dying/

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