Memory Verse: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15
As amazing as it may seem, two men once rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in an open boat from New York to France, a distance of 3,250 miles.
Frank Samuelson and George Harbo, both Norwegian immigrants, lived in Brooklyn, New York, and worked as fishermen. They were strong young men in their late twenties who had spent all their lives at sea. They planned the trip as an adventure, but also in hopes of making some money. “If anybody would row the ocean,” Samuelson told Harbo, “he would make a fortune. People would pay to see the boat.” One man couldn’t do it alone, they agreed. But two men might make the voyage in two months if they rowed 54 miles a day. So why not try it?
For two years the men made plans as they built their eighteen-foot boat. If it should tip over, it had watertight compartments to keep it floating. It also had built-in tanks for drinking water. Into the boat, which they named Fox, went five pairs of oars, a sea anchor, signal lights, five gallons of kerosene for their cooking stove, and an air mattress. Their food included 250 eggs, 100 pounds of biscuits, 9 pounds of coffee and 25 pounds of canned meat.
Amid much celebration the two men in the Fox left New York’s harbor on June 6, 1896. Harbor whistles saluted the boat as it skimmed down the bay with both men rowing. However, most of the 2,000 people who watched them leave thought the two men would never make it. “It’s suicide!” was a common expression.
When the Fox reached the open sea, the two men began their carefully planned routine. Each man was to row 15 hours a day, sometimes together, other times alone.
For eight days they made steady progress in perfectly clear weather. Then a strong gale blew up from the east. The waves rose higher and higher, until they washed over the Fox. At 9 a.m. the two men gave up rowing and tossed out the sea anchor. At 5 p.m. Harbo figured their progress for the day had been 25 miles backwards!
On they rowed, occasionally meeting other ships who tried to help them, thinking they were shipwrecked. There were several surprised ship captains and crews when they heard that the two men were on their way to Europe.
On the Norwegians rowed, sometimes singing, but usually pulling on their oars in silence. On July 7 a westerly gale blew up, and for two days the weary men battled huge waves. It was a hard fight. At least ten times a day the tiny craft had to be bailed out. Only the watertight compartments kept her afloat.
On the second night of the storm, Samuelson saw a gigantic wave bearing down on them.
“Look out!” he shouted.
“We’ll never make it!” gasped Harbo, struggling with the oars.
The next instant the Fox was overturned, and the two men were struggling in the icy water. But for even this emergency they had made plans. Each wore a lifebelt which was fastened to the boat by a rope. Along the side of the boat they had installed a rail to which they could cling.
After several attempts, they righted the boat, crawled aboard and began to bail desperately. Most of their food had been swept away, and their clothes were waterlogged. Sleepless and hungry, they were a sorry sight as the sun rose over a calming sea.
What a picture of the sinner without Christ! Everyone of us is on a trip through this world. Everyone of us is a sinner and away from God. Some of us have been saved by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. His blood has washed our sins away and now we have peace with God. Without Christ we were just like those “having no hope, and without God in the world.” Ephesians 2:12.
Samuelson and Harbo were in bad shape. Food lost, tired and sore in a rowboat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean—they needed to be rescued! A sinner without Christ is in a bad condition, too. He needs to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. This is the only hope for sinners. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6.
Salvation appeared for the two men in the form of a ship on the horizon. They tied a blanket to an oar and began to wave it. At last the ship turned toward the famished men. The ship turned out to be from Norway, from the very city where the two men were born. They boarded the ship for a good meal and a happy reunion with seamen like themselves. Before the two men left, the Norwegians filled the Fox’s water tanks and stocked her with fresh provisions.
When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we are brought into a new family, the family of God. He feeds us, welcomes us and gives us provisions for the rest of the journey through this world. He supplies us with His Word as “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105. He also gives the Holy Spirit which “will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13. This is what God, our Provider, supplies.
Samuelson and Harbo left their friends and, taking up their oars again, continued on their journey. The weather stayed fair, and for more than a week they averaged 65 miles a day. They made a brief stop in England before continuing on to a hero’s welcome in LeHaure, France, on August 7. They, and the Fox, were worn and battered. They could not stand on their stiff legs after landing. Their hands were in frightful shape from the wind, sun and salt water. They were in bad shape, but they had made it!
We are not promised a smooth voyage after we’re saved. This is what we are promised: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5. Can we ask for anything more?
ML-03/22/1981