Everyone encounters various danger in his life, in which one’s life and death is a matter of an instant. However, some people lose their lives unknowingly, while others survive miraculously. Why do they have different endings? At the brink of life and death, who commands it? Please read the following essay.

Who Can Save Our Lives at the Juncture of Life and Death?

As the saying goes, “Storms gather without warning and misfortune befalls men overnight.” Every person runs into all kinds of unexpected danger in his life. However, some people pass away unwittingly, while others come safely out of it. Why do they have different endings? In the life-and-death crisis, who can save our lives?

In 2006, because of believing in God, Han Ping was arrested and imprisoned by the CCP police. In order to earn some extra money, the prison police would contract some work outside to have prisoners do. One day, Han Ping and his cellmates were taken to a place to dig trenches for the cables. The prison police shouted at them, with his eyes wide open, “All of you have work to do. Without finishing it, don’t want your meal. Do it now!” After these words, he fetched a chair and sat there overseeing them.

Xiaobo, an unbeliever, worked together with Han Ping. Three days later, the ditch they dug nearly reached the required standard. However, when they asked the prison police to check it, he said that it was not okay and needed improvement. As a result, they had no choice but to continue digging it. Xiaobo, younger and stronger, said to Han Ping in a low voice when they worked back to back, “Sit down and have a rest.” Han Ping responded, “No, I’m fine.” After a while, Xiaobo again asked Han Ping to have a rest. If it happened ordinarily, Han Ping would possibly do so secretly. Yet, that day, somehow he had a sinister foreboding and felt uneasy in his heart, so he did not want to sit down. Then when he silently prayed to God to seek God’s guidance, suddenly, someone shouted loudly, “Oh, no!” With these words, a heap of sandy soil seven or eight meters tall collapsed immediately. Han Ping felt as if the soil was hitting him on the shoulder. It happened so suddenly that he had no time to think further. He turned round, only to find Xiaobo had been buried deeply by the sandy soil. Then he made his way to Xiaobo and yelled out, “Help! Someone has been buried!” While shouting, he continuously dug the soil away with his hands. Soon, other prisoners came to help. Finally, Xiaobo was dug out. However, he was motionless and was not breathing, with blood gushing from the seven orifices of his head. This scene astounded Han Ping so much that he was unable to believe that such a living, breathing and young life ended in the blink of an eye. At that moment, the man who had just shouted looked bewildered and said to himself, “It doesn’t seem possible. How could it be? I saw clearly Han Ping and Xiaobo working back to back.” And then he turned to Han Ping, “How did you escape? When did you leave there?” Hearing his words, Han Ping didn’t know what to say, and what he could do was keep thanking God in his heart. He knew: That was God’s wondrous deeds. It was God who protected and cared for him. But for God’s protection, he would have been buried together with Xiaobo by the sandy soil, and would certainly have met the same tragic ending as he. Having realized this, Han Ping turned around silently and wiped away tears of gratitude. Just then, someone said to the man, “Don’t be puzzled. It’s obvious that the God he believes in saved him.”

At that time, Han Ping thought of the words in the Bible, “A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Psalms 91:7). He pondered these words quietly, and felt moved and grateful. He exactly confirmed God’s authority and power, and that man’s life and death are in God’s hands. However, at the thought of how Xiaobo was buried by the soil in a flash, he still felt frightened. If he had followed Xiaobo’s words, he would have been buried by the soil too. He couldn’t help thinking why he felt uneasy and did not want to sit down when Xiaobo asked him to have a rest. Obviously, his thoughts and ideas were controlled by God. Although he was imprisoned in the hell hole, God was still with him protecting and keeping him at every moment, and allowed him to see His wondrous deeds in the harsh environment, so that he could gain more confidence to face the rest of his prison life. Thinking of this, Han Ping sincerely gave his thanks and praise to God, and made a resolution: After I get out of prison someday, I will certainly give the rest of my life to God, fulfilling my duty properly to repay God’s love.