Captain Patrick Dove, of S.S. Africa Shell, was captured by the German cruiser, Graf Spee, on November 15, 1939. He was a prisoner with other captured British seamen on the German cruiser when she was attacked by three British ships. She was driven, battered and disabled, into the harbor of Montevideo, only to be finally scuttled by her captain.
We can only faintly imagine the feelings of Captain Dove and the rest. They were imprisoned in a narrow space, unable to see what was happening, hearing the mighty guns fire their deafening salvoes, feeling the ship tremble under their feet as shell after shell hit the cruiser. Naturally, these British men wished for a British victory, but that would almost certainly mean their death like rats caught in a trap. If ever men were in a tight corner, these men were. What did they do?
Captain Dove wrote, “I think that every man there prayed. I know I did. Most of us sailors were pretty firm believers in Christ, and we certainly needed all the comfort we could get at that moment.”
God answered their prayers; the British won the battle, yet the lives of the prisoners in the ship were saved and they were set free.
A similar story was told us by a soldier who had been in the Dunkirk evacuation. He said it was a moving sight to see scores of young soldiers on their knees on the sandy beaches with tears running down their cheeks, crying to God for deliverance. And the ships came.
But why should we act as though true, vital belief in Jesus the Savior must be reserved for extra-tight corners? It should govern our whole lives. At some time every sinner-and we are all sinners will find himself or herself in a tight corner. Why wait for that emergency? Why neglect God, Christ and the Bible in fair weather? Will you seek the help of a neglected and flouted God only when trouble comes?
Wake up! In the time of health and strength turn to the Lord, receive Him as your Savior, and seek grace to please Him in your everyday life. Then when a tight corner comes, He will be with you He “will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)). Have you confessed the Lord? Have you believed on Him? Don’t wait! Even now, as you read this, decide this all-important matter, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.