Faith From The Depths Of the Earth

Are you claustrophobic? In Chile, thirty-three men spent nine weeks buried in a cave beneath a half mile of stone. It was seventeen days after the cave-in before anyone knew they were still alive.

And I get the sweats and all twitchy-like when I'm stuffed inside an MRI machine for only a few minutes.

It boogles the mind what these men endured as their nation struggled to rescue them.

There is no question that the Chilean rescue involved expert planning, top notch engineering, quality equipment, and the ingenious problem solving of experts from a number of countries around the world. In addition, the miners give appropriate credit to their leaders, who kept them strong emotionally and physically.

But they had a Friend, and help from Above; through adversity, we discover the source of our strength.

Villarroel said, "We had a boss ... every day he would tell us we had to be strong ... we didn't have hope. Strength comes from internal energy and prayer ... I never used to pray, [but] here I learned to pray. I got closer to God."

In Time Magazine, of all places, it was reported that:

"the atmosphere underground as being like a church service."

Nearly to a man the miners praised God as they emerged from the depths.

Jimmy Sanchez, one of the outspoken believers, said, "There are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here." Ultimately, Villarroel and the other rescued Chilean miners recognized -- as we must all learn to do -- that their fate rested not in human hands or expert plans alone, but in the providence of God. Villarroel surely spoke for the other miners -- many fell to their knees in prayer as they came out of the rescue capsule -- when he thanked God for a second chance at life. Omar Reygadas clutched his Bible as he exited the rescue capsule, and he knelt in prayer when his feet touched ground. His first words were "God Lives." From the first to the last rescued Chilean miner, these 33 men have learned much they can teach us about faith and what is real.