Rick took several fishing trips to Alaska with friends and customers. Sometimes they would fly to an inland lake and be dropped off for a week with a guide who knew how to survive in the wilds. They went well armed in case a hungry grizzly showed up. Thankfully, the bears kept their distance. Sometimes Rick and his buddies would stay in a lodge on the coast and take small boats out on the ocean to fish. One year, our older son, Trevor, went along. He and Rick headed out to sea with grand hopes one sunny morning.
They went well away from the shore and cast their lines. An unexpected fog rolled in. Soon, they couldn’t see much beyond the bow of the boat. They were not far from the shipping lane and decided it was time to head back.
Usually, the first thing Rick does when he gets in a boat is make sure there is a compass and map on board. In their excitement to get out onto the sea and fish early, Rick forgot. When he looked in the compartment, it was empty. At that point, the boat had been drifting and they didn’t know if they might have gone far enough to be in the shipping lanes. This fog was so thick, he couldn’t tell north from south or east from west. They couldn’t see the shoreline.
Over the next hour, Rick tried to “dead-reckon” his way back to the harbor. Our son asked, “Are we going to be all right, Dad?” Rick reassured him, though he was having serious doubts. There is no way to get out of the way of a ship bearing down on a small boat, and no way for a big ship to see a small boat in the fog. Even if the crew did see them, it can take up to seven miles for a ship to stop.
Rick started to pray. “Lord, I’m the one who made the mistake that got us into trouble. Please don’t make my son pay the price.” The fog parted and there was a straight, clear lane into the harbor they had left earlier that morning.
We trust that God hears our prayers even when we don’t receive an answer. And then there comes a time like this when a prayer of confession and desperation brings an immediate, loving, faith-affirming answer — and rescue.