Set Your Hope

Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when He is revealed. 1 Peter 1:13

Commercial fisherman Scott Thompson falls off his boat at the close of day while fishing in the Santa Barbara Channel in California. He watches as the rough waters steadily carry his boat farther and farther away. Wearing only shorts and a T-shirt, he panics and swims frantically after it.

The fifty-two-degree water quickly awakens his desperation as he prays, "God, take care of my family." The Santa Barbara Channel is not going to become Scott's grave.  Three miles away, the bright lights of an offshore oil platform become his only visible hope.

This happened in January 2022. Soon realizing that he cannot catch his drifting boat, Scott turns his attention toward the distant platform. As he begins the long swim, something remarkable happens. A harbor seal gently nudges him in the right direction and remains ahead of him throughout the five-hour journey. On that moonless night, Scott becomes a man of extraordinary determination as he calls upon God, never taking his eyes off the bobbing head of the seal leading him forward.

The Apostle Peter urges believers, "Prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you." Holy Spirit produces that kind of steadfast determination within us. God poured determination into Scott as he swam for five exhausting hours, and God continues to pour that same strength into His people today.

Afterward, Scott shared that he had often wondered what he would do if he ever fell overboard while alone. When that day finally came, he discovered that more than physical strength or careful planning, he needed God's powerful determination. The same Lord who strengthened Scott is able to strengthen you. When life's waters grow cold, dark, and overwhelming, Christ gives us the determination to keep moving forward, fixing our hope on Him until we safely reach the shore He has prepared.

Rev. Patricia E. Walker,  AlphaChurch.org

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