God’s Saving Hand Delivered Me From Grave Peril
Zi Chao
I am a maintenance worker in a coal mine. Three months after I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, I experienced a mine accident due to water spill. It was thanks to the deliverance of Almighty God that I narrowly escaped death.
One day in late September, about 7 a.m., I went to the production group to get the assignment. The technical manager told me to do maintenance work in the coal-carrying tunnel where the coal-mining team worked, so I went down the mine shaft for work. When I got all the tools ready in the mine and began to work, it was already 10 a.m. I worked in the tunnel where the scraper-trough conveyers went through, and the location of my work was 150 meters away from the exit. At 1 p.m., I heard a fellow worker shouting, “The water comes out from the upper tunnel!” Hearing that, everyone panicked and ran for his life. I also threw down the tools and made a run for the exit. I moved forward by gripping the hydraulic prop, falling behind others. But I walked so slowly, so I wanted to relax my grip and run. But hardly had I relaxed my grip when a rushing torrent came from the upper end of the tunnel, and it swept me off my feet and carried me about 30 meters away downward. I was swallowed up by the water, and felt as if there was no hope of survival. In the moment of danger, I prayed to Almighty God in my heart and committed my life and death into His hands. After praying, I felt very peaceful within and did not panic anymore. The surrounding water seemed not that violent. I opened my eyes and saw a large pit down below me. “Has the coal seam between this pit and that of the main mine been dug through? If I had been swept down into it, I would surely die.” This thought sent a chill down my spine. At that time, my upper body was hanging down from the edge of the pit, and my left shank was pinned under two planks about 7 feet long. I knew clearly that God had used these two planks to keep me from being washed away. In order to survive I groped around and found a rafter 10 cm wide, 2 cm thick, and 1.5 m long. I tried to pry the two planks off my left shank with it, but failed even when it was broken. Then I tried pulling my wounded left shank out from under the planks, but I couldn’t budge it. Again I tried prying the planks off my shank using the broken rafter I only had. I tried with all my strength, and at last, I succeeded. After that, I thought I must leave there immediately, but I was weak all over, and wanted a break. Just then, I noticed another violent torrent rushing down the tunnel. I hurriedly climbed onto the beams by grabbing hold of a prop of the tunnel. Part of the roof above the place where I stayed had caved in and a great quantity of fallen coal piled there, and pieces of coal might fall off from the roof anytime. The only thing I could do then was cry out to Almighty God incessantly. I prayed to Him in my heart, “My life and death are in Your hands.” I wanted to stay there until the water subsided, then run up the tunnel. I flashed my light around and saw the tunnel was flooded with water, the water at its lower end was gushing up, that at its upper end was running down, and the surface of the water at its lower end was only one or two meters away from me. Looking upwards, I couldn’t see a way out, and pieces of coal dropped from the roof above my head from time to time. I was likely to be killed at any time, and I felt completely hopeless. At this moment, I prayed to God again, “Almighty God! My life and death are in Your hands. Even if I die today, I will not complain against You. I believe You are the true God.” Then, I got a clear thought: Climb up against the torrent. So I got down immediately from the beams, and climbed up by grabbing hold of the planks and rafters lying scattered. While climbing, I felt the water behind me, like a pair of strong hands, suddenly pushed me forward by 5 or 6 meters. Then I saw clearly the situation of the tunnel in front of me: A torrent 1 meter wide was rushing down it; some parts of the tunnel narrowed; planks and rafters were lying scattered. Some sections of it weren’t supported by any props, and pieces of coal were dropping with flops. It was really scary and dangerous. With great caution, I, breathing heavily, trudged about 50 or 60 meters. I felt exhausted and wanted to have a rest. When I flashed my light around, I saw the tunnel I had maintained earlier, not far from where was a low area inundated. At that time, the water was up to my shoulders. I walked through the water and reached the cage at the bottom of the auxiliary shaft, which was the elevator car used to raise and lower people. I knocked at the cage to draw the attention of the people outside, and then sat in it. They heard the echoes and operated the elevator and raised me up.
After I came out of the mine, I saw a crowd of people surround its entrance, including the leaders. They were all surprised to see I came out alive. The technical manager told me that he and a miner had been to the scene of the accident in the mine twice, and that when seeing the water flow was large and kept rushing down the tunnel, they thought that I stood no chance of survival. There were seven maintenance workers working in the upper tunnel at that time, but none of them came out, but I, working in the lower tunnel, escaped. In general, it was easier for those working in the upper tunnel to escape than those working in the lower tunnel. I really thank God for His protection for me.
That night my neighbors paid a visit to me. I testified about Almighty God to them and told them how I had come out of the mine by relying on God. Two days later, the brothers and sisters who lived nearby came to visit me after learning what had happened to me. I told them my experience, and they were all moved to tears. I said, “I had only believed in Almighty God for three months, but when I cried out to Him in disaster, He guided me. If it had not been for His protection, I would not have come out of the mine. …” Then my brothers and sisters sang a hymn of God’s word “God Is the Only Foundation for Men’s Existence”: “When the waters swallow men whole, I save them from the stagnant waters. When men lose their confidence to live, God stretches out his hand of salvation and pulls them up from the edge of death, giving them the courage to live, letting them have him as the foundation for their existence, have him as the foundation for their existence.” I was deeply moved by it: I have experienced exactly what this hymn says! When I was swallowed up by the water in the mine, it was God who reached out His saving hand to me; otherwise I would have lost my life. I cannot thank God enough!
Through this experience, I saw God’s protection and salvation for me, and I became more certain that Almighty God is the reliance of man’s existence. I was willing to follow Him seriously, and I made up my mind to preach the gospel to testify about Him. Then I went to preach the gospel to my relatives, friends, and fellow miners. Two of my fellow miners accepted God’s work of the last days right away. All the glory be to Almighty God!
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