I survived because...

I love true crime shows like 48 Hours, City Confidential, American Justice and others.  I recently found one called I Survived. 

I thought "this is neat!"  In the others listed above, someone else always tells the story.  In I Survived,  the story is being told by a survivor. This means that they lived through the entire ordeal.  Some of the stories are heartbreaking and one can only wonder how and why they survived. 

In fact, at the end of the segment the survivor telling their story ends it with "I survived because..." and they tell why they think they survived.  I listen intently to hear what they have to say.  I want to know what they think gave them the will to live, the energy to go on, the power to survive.

These stories are not simple and quick.  Some are long and drawn and the victim was forced to endure hours of pain, torture, and agony. 

I just caught a glimpse of one yesterday that dealt with an intruder who came upon a couple and their elderly mother.  Each was severely injured and the husband took on the intruder.  His wife who was being interviewed stated that she was very scared for her husband.  He in turn stated that his first concern was for his wife who was his best friend, his soulmate. 

At the end, when she answered the question she said this "I survived because my husband was there.  I would not have survived without my husband." 

Others have said "I survived because of my will to live"  "I survived because of the off duty police officer who was awake with a sick dog and heard my screams." "I survived because of my children." 

There was a time when I was completely lost in a culture much accepted by this society.  I did not have a clue as to the direction of my life nor did I care.  You could say that I was in need of a "savior" because I was trapped [self imposed] in the culture.  I could not see a way out. 

That is until I heard of the love of Christ and His mighty power.  I knew then that there were no shackles, no actions, no past that would keep me from being accepted into His kingdom.  I quickly learned that I had relied on me too much, with no positive results.  If survival was going to happen for me, it was only going to happen through Christ. 

We have all suffered pain, rejection, agony, loss, failure.......I survived because Jesus Christ took my place and gave his life for me so that I might continue to live. 

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 
1 John  2:2

In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.  But my righteous one will live by faith.  I take no pleasue in one who shrinks back.  But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.  Hebrews 10: 37-39