In the Storm

 

“In 1943, John F. Kennedy was the 26-year old skipper of PT-109. As the PT-109 was prowling the waters late at night a Japanese destroyer suddenly emerged and in an instant, cut Kennedy’s craft in half. Two of his 12 member crew were killed instantly and two others badly injured. “The survivors clung to the drifting bow for hours. At daybreak, they embarked on a 3.5 miles (6 kilometers) swim to the tiny deserted Plum Pudding Island. They placed their lantern, and non-swimmers on one of the timbers used as a gun mount and began kicking together to propel it. Braving the danger of sharks and crocodiles they reached their destination in five hours. “After two days on the small island without food and water, Kennedy realized they needed to swim to a larger island, Olasana, if they were to survive. Kennedy and his men were found and rescued by scouts after surviving six days on coconuts.” 1

Adrift in a storm—imagine! Not a soul for miles around on whom to call. While most of us have not been through the kind of real-life shipwreck that John F. Kennedy survived, nevertheless, we may go through troubles in life that seem as life-threatening and very frightening.

We automatically look for help from others when our life falls apart. Whether it’s the Coast Guard, or the paramedics and doctors, friends with “connections,” or a counselor, we want assistance quickly.

When we pray, we expect God to answer at least using the latest medical procedures, or the best expertise in whatever area in which we suffer. And, usually God does work using the ordinary means of our world.

But, as the Puritan writer, Thomas Lye wrote in Puritan Sermons 1659-1689:

“An Almighty God can work without means. God often brings his people into such a condition that they do not know what to do. He does this that they might know what he can do. God is with his people at all times, but he is most sweetly with them in the worst of times.”

In your desperate prayers for your own shipwrecks, and those shipwrecks of people you love, never disparage God’s ability to work in your behalf through His own powerful means. And to Him be the glory!

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1 from “10 Incredible Real Life Castaway Tales” on Listverse.com, October 6, 2008