Escapes from Death
For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living? – Psalm 56:13 NKJV.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:8-11 NKJV.
It happened near Garner, North Carolina; that is where a 71-year-old woman escaped death twice at a railroad crossing. The first time she escaped death was when she had to hurry across the crossing to avoid being hit by an Amtrak train. She hit a tree on the other side of the crossing. The second time (two weeks later) she escaped death, she attempted to follow a line of cars across the crossing; however, the cars stopped and left her stranded on the tracks. Seeing the approaching train, she attempted to back up off the tracks, but the front of her car was still struck by the Amtrak train. Thankfully, no one on the train was injured, and the 71-year-old woman escaped with minor injuries. The car, however, does have some major damage from the two accidents. (abc11 05.15.16; The News & Observer 05.11.16)
Escapes from death, how many close calls have you had? I have never had a close call with a train, and hope I never do! I know that as a teenager I had two close brushes with death. Working in the oilfield I had two narrow escapes from death and also as a parole officer more escapes from death. While driving I know there have been many close calls. Those are just the ones I know where God protected me from an early death. I realize that there were countless other times that God has protected me from physical injury and then there are the times that I know God has healed me. As the apostle Paul says, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28a).”
Hebrews 9:27 makes it clear that we will all suffer a physical death, but if we know Jesus as our Savior we have already passed from eternal death (escaped from death) unto eternal life (John 5:24). Only God knows the number of our days upon this earth. As it has been said by many, each day is the beginning of the rest of our lives. King David knew this very well as he said, “Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah. Our God is the God of salvation; and to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death (Psalm 68:19-20).” Let us live each day confident that God Himself through the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Whatever we may face this day, God is with us (Matthew 1:23).