“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12) In the summer of 2017, two longtime commercial fishermen—John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski—set out to fish from Montauk, Long Island. About forty miles offshore, Anthony was sleeping below deck while John started to get things ready for fishing. John was pulling on a handle of a cooler with all his might when it snapped, sending him sprawling—right off the back of the boat. The boat was on autopilot, so it just kept going. As soon as John surfaced he began screaming for help but he knew there was no way his mate Anthony, sleeping below deck, would ever hear him. John watched as the boat went up and over the crest of a wave, and then it was gone. He was alone, treading water in the ocean, without a life vest, thinking this was how he would die. While John was trying to calm down, and stay afloat, he realized that his boots were floating. So he took one off, emptied the water, flipped it over and plunged it back into the water creating an air pocket. John then stuck one floating boot under each arm…. At least he could stay afloat…. A ray of hope. Four hours later, Anthony woke up and realized John was gone. He called the Coast Guard frantically reporting his friend missing. The Coast Guard commander admitted he didn’t have much hope of finding John in so much open water, an area the size of Rhode Island. Through a series of events the search area was narrowed down, but the hours kept passing by with no finding of John. As morning came, John saw a fishing buoy. He was able to swim over to and climb on. There was a new surge of hope. Less than an hour after climbing on the buoy, a Coast Guard helicopter flew nearby and spotted John waving and splashing. They pulled him up to safety. “We’ve been looking for you for nine hours today,” the Coast Guard rescue diver told John. “Well, I’ve been looking for you for twelve,” John answered.[1] "Hope is waiting in confident anticipation for what you know will happen." In the midst of unprecedented times it is easy to lose hope. Feeling like you are floating in the middle of the ocean, lost at sea, with no one coming to rescue, but there is hope. According to the Bible hope is not a whim, wish or dream. Hope is waiting in confident anticipation for what you know will happen. Hope is like waiting for a train in Germany. If it is coming at 11:27am, you know it will be there at 11:27am. Hope is like waiting for the sunrise. You might be standing in the dark but you know morning is coming. Hope is knowing when your Mom promises pie on Easter the best pie will be waiting for you. Hope looks beyond our circumstance to a God who knows the beginning and end, who holds time in his hands. Who knows the past, present, and future and promises us a hope that is beyond this world found in Jesus. Hope looks to the future not in fear but with confident anticipation of a God who is in control. Friends during these uncertain times, find hope in Jesus and no matter what happens here a rescue is coming. [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lost-at-sea-a-harrowing-story-of-survival/.] Comments are closed.
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