Rescue At Sea

In Psalm 37, the writer lays it out so beautifully that God is our rescuer.  For example, here is what verses 39 and 40 say:
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD ; He is their strength in time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.

When we are born, we set sail, in a sense, on a journey.   As we accept Christ, we recognize that He, not ourselves, is the captain of our ship.   As long as we continue to allow Him to have control, He will steer us in the right direction, and we can trust Him to get us back on course when we drift.   When we encounter rough seas, we can be confident that He will correctly navigate through them, and we will grow in that confidence.   Even if there is something broken aboard the ship, we can still trust in the hand of the Almighty, who will sustain us - He is our rescuer, and we do well to relinquish control to Him, even when circumstances look bleak and desperate.

In 2nd Timothy chapter 4, the apostle Paul acknowledges God as his rescuer:
17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear ; and I was rescued out of the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom ; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The deteriorating conditions aboard the Carnival Triumph cruise ship that lost power in the Gulf last week resulted in passengers of various faiths meeting nightly to lift each other up and pray for everyone on the boat carrying over 4000 people.

AL.com quotes Shajwanda McCain of Houston, as saying: “We had to pray that God would cover the whole boat on their behalf — and cover the people who were driving the tugboats."  She said she attended some of the Bible studies, which included singing, prayers and testimonies, with about 70 attending. The services were announced to the entire ship and held in the London Dining Hall on the cruise ship’s 10th floor.

“You had Baptists. There were a few Catholics,” said McCain, who described herself as nondenominational.

“Each person talked, gave a testimony and encouraged everybody. It was uplifting.”

"You had very irate people," she recalled. "You have to intercede for everybody."

“We were scared,” said Marie McCain, 53, who attends PowerHouse Church in Katy, Texas.

“We stayed in prayer. All our friends were on Facebook in prayer.”

According to BillyGraham.org, Joseph and Cecilia Alvarez were involved in starting a Bible study on the ship:

Cecilia kept thinking about one Bible verse, Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Wouldn’t it be great, she thought, if she and Joseph could get together with other Christians on the ship? If they could join other believers to lift each other up? It wasn’t long after that they heard an announcement over the ship’s intercom; passengers were invited to join a Bible study on deck...

“The Bible studies were great,” he said. “We did it for four days. … It put our minds and our hearts at ease. We felt peace the whole time. We knew that there was a Mighty Power out there that would get us home and keep us safe so we could get home and see our children.”

“There were things that didn’t go right, but things that did go right I took as a blessing,” said Doreen Ruthart, 50, of Paris, Texas. “It makes you appreciate what you have.”

Ruthart said she did not attend any of the Bible studies but she relied on her personal faith. “I just didn’t have the fear that a lot of people had,” she said. “I felt we could come through it.”

And, on this President's Day, I want to pivot and call attention to another rescue at sea, this time involving an American President, who, while commanding the Continental Army, experienced what he believed was the  hand of God.    Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries tells the story:

One event that George Washington believed showed God’s providence was the Battle of Long Island in 1776. Washington and his men were trapped on Brooklyn Heights, Long Island. The British were poised to crush the American army the next day and that would have been the end of the rebellion. Washington planned a bold move and began evacuating his troops under the cover of darkness using everything from fishing vessels to rowboats. But there was not enough time to accomplish the task. When morning came, the fog of night remained and only lifted in time for the British to see the last American boat crossing the East River beyond the reach of their guns. You can read more about this miraculous event in Michael Novak’s book, On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding.

Washington also required chaplains for the Continental Army, and personally took time for prayer. He forbade his troops under pain of death from uttering blasphemies, even profanity. He called upon them to conduct themselves as Christian soldiers because the people demanded it.

The evidence is clear and abundant that George Washington was, in fact, a Christian.  And, this particular instance is just one of many that can demonstrate for us God's direction in the founding of this great nation.

So, let's look at ourselves.   Do we believe that God is our rescuer?   When times are desperate, do we rely on Him first and foremost, or do we exhaust every conceivable method of escape before we turn to Him?   I believe that when the ship of our life has encountered difficulty, He is the One who can right the ship, and the One who can bring repair as we trust in Him.