Jack and Nick were good friends since childhood, having met each other at church. They both had a love for God’s created beings. Living near the ocean, the underwater world had particularly fascinated both of them from an early age and they managed to make a successful career filming the underwater world. They had filmed many different underwater plants and wildlife and were always discovering new wonders beneath the water. Often everything seemed so peaceful beneath the water’s surface.
The men often spent a few weeks away from home filming in different locations around the world. On this particular trip they found themselves in Northern Africa. They had rented a small ship and hired a few sailors to accompany them as they decided to go view the coral reefs that surrounded the little islands just off the coast of Northern Africa.
The ocean was calm as they approached the coral reef. Soon they laid the anchor and the boat swayed along with the waves of the North Atlantic. The beautiful, clear waters seemed to be calling to Jack and Nick.
There were a lot of sharks in the area, and the men nervously noted the different kinds of sharks near their boat. They still cautiously went into the water to do some filming. At first they were jittery about the sharks when they went into the water. They had been warned repeatedly of the danger of sharks in these waters and so were very cautious. Jack and Nick would not swim out for pictures alone; they always went together. One carried the camera while the other carried a harpoon, ready for any danger.
On the first day, while peering through the water, Jack could just make out the shape of a huge shark in the gloom ahead. But as it moved closer, his heart missed a beat as he saw the immense jaws of the nearly 8-meter-long animal. He moved closer to his friend Nick who had the harpoon. Their muscles tensed as they watched the great fish swimming slowly towards them. Suddenly the shark caught sight of the two men. Fear and fascination filled Jack and Nick. To their intense relief the shark whirled and swam away, seemingly in fear.
Days of filming passed, and the two friends gradually were becoming less afraid of the sharks. Before long Jack was even going out looking for sharks to film. It seemed that even the man-eating sharks were afraid of the men and would turn and swim away.
Just like Jack and Nick were losing their fear of the sharks, young people can lose their fear of sinning against God. At first their conscience really bothers them, but as they continue, their fear and anxiety are lessened. The Bible says that there are “pleasures of sin for a season.” Hebrews 11:25. Sin does not always seem so bad to some people. They even think they have control over their tendency to sin and can stop the sin whenever they choose to. However, the Bible says, “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.” Proverbs 28:26
Although they prayed every morning for God’s protection, Jack and Nick were certainly starting to be foolish about playing around with the sharks. One day one of the men even swam into a cave with sharks and pulled their tails. The sharks darted outside the cave and swam away while Jack filmed them. They should have been more careful if they wanted God’s protection.
A few days later, they decided to take the ship away from the islands for some deep-sea filming. As soon as they reached the deeper waters, Nick sighted a small whale. He and Jack grabbed their camera and dove in to follow it beneath the waves. Only five meters beneath the surface they noticed a 3-meter-long gray shark. Fearlessly they swam towards it, assuming that it would swim away from them as all the other sharks had done. Instead, it headed toward them and began to circle. Nick reached for the shark’s tail and gave it a twist. This shark was strong and fearless. It simply shook him off and continued slowly circling the two men.
Fascinated by the shark, the men were being drawn deeper and deeper into the depths of the ocean without realizing it. Fascinated by sin, young people who play with it are often drawn further and further into serious trouble. The Bible tells us that “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust [desire], and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived [the desire is followed], it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:14–15
It was not long before Jack and Nick’s fascination turned into worry. After a short while, the worry turned into fear—fear about death. Swimming up right beneath them were two large vicious-looking, 5-meter-long, steel-blue sharks. Now they were really afraid and began to pray in their minds. Surrounded by sharks more than 20 meters beneath the surface, they struggled against panic as the sharks slowly circled closer and closer to the two divers. Jack tried blowing air bubbles at the sharks to scare them off. That did not work. Then he tried a chemical that had been effective in driving away sharks in the past. The gray shark swam right through the chemicals and closed in on the desperate men. It swam directly towards Jack until its giant jaws completely filled his vision. In desperation Jack smashed his camera against the shark’s snout! It veered away, but not for long. It began to circle them again.
Fighting for the surface, Jack and Nick grew more and more tired. Their strength had begun to give out, and the sharks seemed to be settling in for the kill. Their efforts had failed to drive off the sharks, and they were as helpless as a person in the clutches of sin. They were trapped by the sharks, just as many people who have left the Lord have become trapped by the clutches of sin. Sensing the end, the sharks moved faster and faster as they closed in on Jack and Nick. The men did not give up though. Their prayers became more earnest as they struggled for life.
The two friends finally managed to reach the surface and desperately tried to get the attention of the crew on the ship; but no one on the ship seemed to notice them. The sharks were still after them, but the exhausted men did not give up. One man watched underwater for the sharks while the other rested. When the sharks approached, they dove towards them and turned the sharks aside. Their oxygen supply dwindled. Soon they would be forced to dive while holding their breath. Before long they would not have the strength even to dive, and would completely give up. They kept looking up and praying.
They had almost given up hope when suddenly a dark shadow moved over their heads, and the sharks turned and plunged into the depths of the ocean and left them alone. The ship’s crew had finally seen their struggles and attempts to alert them. The struggling men, in their preoccupation to drive off the sharks, had not noticed the ship approaching; and now the ship’s hull passing overhead had driven off the sharks.
God had answered their prayers and they were safely drawn out of the water. Just in the same way, a loving God always hears the sinner’s cry for help. He will come swiftly to help anyone who cries out for mercy, and He will free them from their sin. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15. The Lord Jesus has died and taken the punishment for sins. Now He is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. If you have wandered away from God and find yourself far from God due to your sin, you can cry out to God for help right now and He will answer that prayer immediately. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:13