In January 1915 the ship Endurance was trapped and crushed in the ice off the coast of Antarctica. The group of polar explorers, led by Ernest Shackleton, survived and managed to reach Elephant Island in three small lifeboats. Trapped on this empty island, far from normal shipping lanes, they had one hope.

On 24 April 1916, 22 men watched as Shackleton and five others set out in a tiny lifeboat for South Georgia, an island 800 miles away. The odds seemed impossible, and if they failed, they would all certainly die. Amazingly, more than four months later, a boat appeared on the horizon with Shackleton on its bow shouting, “Are you all well?” And the call came back, “All safe! All well!”

What held those men together and kept them alive over those months? Faith and hope placed in one man. They believed that Shackleton would find a way to save them.

This human example of faith and hope is the same as the faith of the people listed in Hebrews 11. Their faith in “things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” kept them going through great difficulties and trials (Heb. 11:1 NKJV).

As we look at our own problems, we don’t need to give up. We can have hope in the certainty and promises of One Man—Jesus, our God and Saviour.

Author

Randy Kilgore

Topics

Our Daily Bread