Thought for the Month - January 2015
"Is… there… any… hope?" by Barry Adair
(On eternal patrol, USS S-4)
The story I want to mention this month occurred 87 years ago to the day (as I write this anyway). USS S-4 was an S-class submarine of the United States Navy. The submarine was used in the 1920s all along the Eastern coast of America. Then on 17th December 1927, just off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, she was accidentally rammed and sunk by a Coast Guard destroyer. I will let Wikipedia relate the story of what happened immediately after the sinking…
USS S-4 rescue operations were commenced, only to be thwarted by severe weather. Heroic efforts were made to rescue six known survivors trapped in the forward torpedo room, who had exchanged a series of signals with divers, by tapping on the hull. As the trapped men used the last of available oxygen in the sub, a diver placed his helmeted ear to the side of the vessel and received this Morse-coded message, "Is… there… any… hope?"
Sadly, there was no reason for hope and all six men perished.
It was our Pastor who had mentioned this story one night in church and it was that heart-rending Morse coded message that has stuck in my head ever since.
The story is heart-breaking. Those six men had initially survived the tragedy where 34 others had already lost their lives. They were in "touching distance" of rescue but the lack of cutting equipment and time meant that the trapped air was used up all too quickly. As I thought about the "Is… there… any… hope?" message a couple of things went through my head and I wanted to share them here.
One of my favourite films is the Shawshank Redemption. It was based on a Stephen King short story and is primarily a story about hope. It is the hope for something better, hope for the future and hope to keep your spirits up when you're locked in a prison cell (literal or metaphorical). One memorable quote from the film sprung to mind. It too is about hope…
"Remember that hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies".
Hope IS a good thing and the best authority on this subject is to be found in the Bible. One of my favourite passages on the subject is in Romans…
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. (Rom 5:2-7)
If your hopes are in anything or anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ can I remind you that ultimately the answer to the question "Is… there… any… hope" is a resounding NO.
I hope you are blessed with health and happiness. But life can be tough sometimes and in the storms of life we all need a safe harbour. Those 6 poor sailors who lost their lives all those years ago in Boston harbour may be more alive today than they ever were in the 1920's! If they ever committed their lives to the Lord Jesus, then I can assure you that they DID find a safe Harbour after all.
Our prayer in Grove at the start of another new year would be that everyone who reads this Thought would be sure of their eternal home. An eternal home secured by the sacrificial death of God's only begotten Son.
"There… Is… Hope"
More specifically, "There… Is… A… Hope"
Listen in to Stuart Townend's great song here…
God bless and a Happy New Year from all in 'the Grove'
Are you SURE that you have your place booked in Heaven? Read this if you're not!