Tom needed a job, but jobs were hard to find in Alaska. After several weeks of finding nothing, Tom finally found a skipper of a salmon fishing boat who needed help. Tom volunteered to go on this, his first fishing trip.
They were to leave Bristol Bay at 11 p.m. They had made arrangements for their small 32-foot boat to follow a big tender (a supply ship). But the tender did not really want them to follow. “Your little boat can’t possibly keep up with us,” said the other skipper. “And don’t expect us to come help you if you get into trouble!”
In spite of this discouragement Tom and his skipper set out at the appointed time, following the tender, and sailed out of the quiet bay onto the open sea.
Everything went well until they came near Cook Inlet. Then they felt the power of the ocean as 20-foot waves tossed their little boat around. Tom’s stomach did not feel as good as it had a few hours before.
In the middle of Cook Inlet with the tide going out, a strong wind picked up. Fighting to stay upright, the two-man crew of the little, salmon fishing boat heard their engine suddenly sputter.
“Go back to the engine and see what’s wrong,” shouted the skipper above the roar of the sea. Tom struggled to the rear of the boat. Partway back a huge wave swept over the side of the boat and knocked Tom down. He staggered back to the wheel-house and opened the door just when another giant wave crashed over the boat, flooding the wheel-house. The two men tried the radio, but it was dead. There was no way to make contact with the big ship, now steaming off in the distance. “At least the motor is still going,” was their only comforting thought.
And then, in spite of the noise of the wind and waves, came an awful silence—no engine! An extra battery in the boat was hooked up to the radio. They tried again and again to contact the tender, but received no reply. Realizing their danger, the two fishermen put on their survival suits and waited.
What a frightening experience—a small boat adrift on a raging sea with no motor and no radio. And yet there are many thousands of people who are drifting on the raging sea of life with no sense of direction and no contact with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of the universe. If you do not know Jesus as your Saviour, you, too, are one of those who are drifting. The Lord Jesus calls to you, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28). Won’t you come?
We find our two fishermen with their hopes fading, waiting in their little boat, tossed back and forth by the mighty waves. Suddenly—can it be? Yes, the tender is coming back! Somehow they must have heard their call for help after all.
They watched as the big ship circled around them several times and then threw them a line. In the heavy seas Tom and his skipper realized that they would have to lighten their boat to enable the tender to tow them. They decided to throw the important items onto the tender. As they threw the first things over Tom saw danger. The tender was down in the valley of the tremendous waves, and their little boat was high on the crest above it. Suddenly their boat slid down the side of the wave and crashed into the tender! Tom, seeing the crash coming, leaped off onto the tender, but his skipper was knocked down with the force of the impact.
How Satan would try to stop you from coming to the Saviour. He may try violence, or he may try tempting you with the many attractions in this world. Oh, come to Jesus right now, while His loving arms are outstretched waiting for you to come.
The skipper, left alone on the little fishing boat, tied the line that had been thrown to him. Then the tender began towing him through the rough seas toward the safety of the nearest harbor. But the sea in all its power was too much, and the lifeline snapped. Back again came the tender, circling around, throng another line. Tied up again, they all made it to Kodiak Island where another fishing boat towed them to a quiet place where the two fishermen could repair their boat.
In talking with the skipper of the tender, Tom discovered that their calls for help had been heard, but for some reason they had not been able to hear the tender’s reply.
If as a lost sinner you feel your need of a Saviour, call to the Lord Jesus. He will always hear your cry. And He loves you and wants to save you.
ML-01/15/1984