Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Shana: This is Shana on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Perhaps you've heard Joni talk about her diving accident. Here she is today with part of the story that might be new to you.

Joni Eareckson Tada: Decades have passed since that fateful day. I dove into shallow water, crunched my neck, then floated helplessly paralyzed, face down in the water. I hardly ever think about that day—it was so long ago—until recently, someone asked a question about it.

The other day a visitor to our Joni and Friends office asked me, “Joni, didn't you panic when you were in the water? You were face down, you were running out of breath. Weren't you frightened?” I had to pause a minute and think back. Did I panic? Was I frightened?

Strange as it may seem, even though I was helplessly floating face down in the water and unable to right myself, honestly, I had no fear. Although I knew that in the next few seconds water would flood my lungs, a deep and powerful peace held fear at bay.

I think this is why. Psalm 68:20 says, “Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.” That is a comforting verse because it infers that our Sovereign Lord is an escape artist when it comes to death. Someone once explained it well when he wrote:

Guest (Male): All that pertains to deliverance from death, all that prepares for it, all that makes it easy to be born, 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.

Joni Eareckson Tada: As it turned out, looking back, my sister Kathy rescued me in a split second before I began to drown. Isn't that amazing? Yes, God will rescue you, but sometimes it's in the split second. Yes, you will be delivered, but with absolutely no time to spare.

His grace will uphold you, but sometimes it's not administered until we come to the absolute end of ourselves. In other words, yes, I survived that diving accident, but by the skin of my teeth. Talk about something that refines your faith.

It is why to this day Psalm 18 means so much to me, where it says, “The chords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The chords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my cry.”

Only heaven is going to reveal the countless times you and I escape death every day. So, thank Him for His sovereign protection over your life, whether broken necks, broken arms, or broken fingernails. God blankets you with His protection, often waiting until the last minute, but His protection is there.

Finally, when your time does come to leave this earth for the next, God will provide the same escape. In the meantime, know that your times are in His hands, and that is the safest place to be.

Shana: Listening friend, I realize that the subject of dying is not a pleasant one, and it may well be that you're being faced with questions about death. If so, we want to give you a pamphlet for free. It’s something Joni wrote called, *When Is It Right to Die?* Just visit joniradio.org today. We'll see you soon at joniradio.org.