Deep Survival By Laurence Gonzales

Isn't that so no one can Boast? and what does GOD tell us about being humble-Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
INTERESTING ARTICLE
Miraculous survivors: Why they live while others die
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/08/survive /index.html
author Laurence Gonzales has long tried to answer. Whenever a disaster hits -- a cyclone in Myanmar; an earthquake in China; a climbing accident in Alaska -- Gonzales scans the headlines for the stories of those survivors who made it out alive when all others perished.

"I know when something big happens, I know the kind of stories that are playing out and the people who emerge from them with similar stories," he says.

Gonzales explains what makes these survivors special in "Deep Survival," a book that dissects the psychological and spiritual transformation that takes place within people who survive against all odds.

Most of these survivors share the same traits, Gonzales says.

"These are people who tend to have a view of the world that does not paint them as a victim," he says. "They're not whiners who are always complaining about the bad things that are happening to them and expecting to get rescued."

Gonzales says at least 75 percent of people caught in a catastrophe either freeze or simply wander in a daze.

"The first thing people do when something bad happens is to be in denial," Gonzales says. "People who make good survivors tend to get through that phase quickly. They accept the evidence of their senses."

'The Rambo types are the first to go'

Gonzales says many of the disaster survivors he studied weren't the most skilled, the strongest or the most experienced in their group.

Those who seemed best suited for survival -- the strongest or most skilled -- were often the first to die off in life-or-death struggles, he says. Experience and physical strength can lead to carelessness. The Rambo types, a Navy SEAL tells Gonzales, are often the first to go.

Small children and inexperienced climbers, for example, often survive emergencies in the wilderness far better than their stronger or adult counterparts, he says.

They survive because they're humble, Gonzales says.
“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up” (Proverbs 12:25, NIV).

“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
A person that is unable to do works because of illness or physical disability is still saved by faith

Grace came first - God's free and undeserved love that never quits (Eph. 2:8). The gift of God that comes as eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). Works will follow after we have been born again by His Spirit, and others will know in whom we believe by our witness to them. If there had been anything we as humans could have done to inherit eternal life or keep it, then Christ would never have had to come. We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:5) It's ALL about Him, always has been, and always will be! God bless!!!

2008-09-08 16:35:27 by Crimmy

Laurence Gonzales, award-winning writer and author of Deep Survival on quot;Intelligent Mistakes and his New Book Vortex in a Bottlequot;