See Also

Archive

About the Author

    At 3 A.M., Marine Corporal Zachary Mayo strolled out on the deck of the aircraft carrier. Little did he realize that in a moment he’d plunge into a life-threatening ordeal.

    As the ship cruised through the Indian Ocean, Mayo was on deck taking a late evening stroll. Suddenly, a heavy metal door swung open and knocked him overboard. For the next 36 hours, this courageous marine clung to life in the shark-infested sea. Repeatedly he inflated his coveralls to stay afloat. He drifted in and out of sleep. At night, sea creatures nibbled on his toes. Sharks encircled him. Mayo prayed constantly for God’s protection. At the point of exhaustion, he was finally picked up by some local fisherman.

He prayed constantly for God’s protection.

    Three days later Mayo made a joyful phone call home announcing his rescue.

    Don’t our lives somewhat parallel this marine’s ordeal? We feel isolated in our pain. Desperate. Sensing little hope for rescue. Whatever faith battle you’re facing, I want you to draw strength from these words of Paul. Reflecting on his severe trials, he said, “in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead...On him we have set our hope that he will continually to deliver us .” (2 Corinthians 1:9-10, NIV)

    However desperate life may feel at this moment, let me encourage you to keep hanging on to the Life Preserver — our Lord Jesus Christ. Continue waiting on Him. Don’t stop praying. He loves you and has not abandoned you. Trust that the God of all hope will ultimately rescue you.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. (Psalm 107:28)