SINK OR SWIM?
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Jessica Breazeale
On average, around 236,000 people die every year from drowning globally, according to the CDC.
People are literally drowning in ponds, lakes, oceans, and swimming pools, and it’s the 3rd leading cause of unintentional death worldwide.
That averages out to about 650 deaths per day worldwide. In the United States, it’s about 12 per day.
Over 90% of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with children under the age of five at highest risk.
What can we do for drowning prevention?
As a seasoned swimmer and swim teacher, I find regular swimming lessons the best method for water confidence. The more time you spend in the water and the more lessons you receive, the safer you’ll feel. It’s also important that parents do not take their eyes off their children…not even for a moment. The worst nightmare can happen when preoccupied by a phone, a conversation, a trip to the car, alcohol or substance use, and many other distractions.
But in a metaphorical sense, people drown in other ways.
For example, in the U.S., about 574,314 people filed for bankruptcy last year, an 11% increase from the previous year, according to the United States Courts website.
Bankruptcy filings are still on the rise due to consumer debt like high interest rates, medical expenses, inflation, lower wages, etc. People are drowning in debt.
Over 70% of individuals in Mississippi needing treatment for substance abuse do not receive it. Mississippi has experienced a dramatic surge in drug-related fatalities, with overdose deaths increasing by 127% from 2012 to 2023, reaching 702 deaths annually. The state faces a severe opioid crisis driven primarily by fentanyl.
People are drowning in drug addiction.
According to the American Addiction Centers (from a 2023 U.S. National Survey), 16.7% or 48.5 million Americans (aged 12 and older) met the criteria for substance use disorder (SUD) within the past 12 months.
1 in 6 people with SUD struggle with both alcohol and drug addiction, and over 21 million adults are navigating co-occurring mental health and substance challenges.
Additionally, about 1.65 million inpatient mental health hospitalizations occurred in the U.S. in a recent year, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Worldwide, about 8.4 million people are admitted to mental health facilities each year, which is about 23,000 admissions per day globally, based on estimates from the World Health Organization. People are drowning in depression and other mental illnesses.
People are drowning in water, debt, drugs, mental health, and a slew of other things we didn’t mention like anger, grief, hatred, etc.
But I know something that will not drown you—and that something is the living water.
As it says in John 4:14 (Amplified Bible): “But whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water, gushing up to eternal life.”
The living water won’t drown you. It’s a reassurance so old that it’s an Old Testament promise from Isaiah 43:2.
This promise of God's presence and protection during life's trials says, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.” Isaiah’s statement was probably rooted in the Exodus event of the Israelites crossing through the parted Red Sea, but the promise still rings true for us today…if we let it.
God didn’t REMOVE the Red Sea. He PARTED it. You’ll have trials. That’s what it means to be alive and human. But if you allow the living water to show you a path through, there will be one waiting for you. Don’t sink. SWIM!
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