The Egede family lived in the country of Norway on the seacoast. Ten-year-old Paul was the only child in the family. One morning when Mr. Egede was away on business, Paul asked his mother, “May I go to the strands today and look for fish?” (The strands is the name of land that is normally covered by the ocean but is left bare when the tide flows out.)
“All right, you may go, but be sure you come home before noon,” Paul’s mother said.
Paul found a bucket for carrying the fish that he hoped to find and ran happily down the path which led from their cottage to the sea. Behind him rose majestic mountains. As he came near the strands, he could see sea gulls flying in the sky, but no person was in sight.
Paul began looking for fish called flounder. They are small fish that look like flat, round stones. These fish swim along the bottom of the ocean, and sometimes they get trapped in small pools of water when the tide goes out.
Some days Paul didn’t find any fish, but today was unusually good. He was finding so many that he forgot all about the time. He searched farther out on the strands, hoping to fill his bucket with fish. He was so busy looking for fish that he never noticed the tide coming back in behind him.
When he finally turned around, he saw his mother on the shore half a mile away. Because the tide had covered all that distance with water, which was lower than where Paul was, he couldn’t get back to shore!
Slowly and steadily the tide kept rising. It rose to his ankles, then it rose to his knees. If Paul didn’t do something soon, he would be trapped, and he couldn’t swim. He was in great danger!
Paul ran to the closest rock and climbed on top of it, but the water kept getting higher too!
On shore Paul’s mother could see the tide rising, and she knew the danger her son was in. She cried to God in prayer, “Oh, God, stop the rising tide and spare my son!” she pleaded. Both Paul and his mother were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hasn’t God promised to protect those who trust in Him? she thought. Then He will help my Paul, she told herself.
The water rose until it completely covered the rock Paul was standing on. Then, it stopped rising. For several long hours Paul stood on that rock ... until the tide flowed back out and it was possible to wade back to shore.
How thankful Paul and his mother both were. They both learned a lesson that day, that God answers the prayers of those who fear Him. “The Lord is [near] unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them” (Psalm 145:18-1918The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 19He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. (Psalm 145:18‑19)).
Do you fear the Lord, as the Egede family did? Fearing the Lord means that you want to do His will, not your own, because you love Him and know He is good, and you know that not listening to Him will grieve Him and have bad consequences. Paul was not disobeying his mother on purpose, though he was careless of the time. The Lord understands that we make mistakes, and He helps us even then.
A few years after this story happened, when Paul was 13, the Egede family further showed their fear of the Lord when they moved to icy Greenland. They went there to tell the Inuits about the love of God in sending His Son into this world to die for them.
Do you know the Savior the Egedes taught others about? He loves you, too, and died for you. He is now at the right hand of God in heaven and He is able to save from their sins every person who trusts in Him. Will you trust in Him today?
Memory Verse: “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them.” Psalm 145:18-19
Messages of God’s Love 9/15/2024