Jonah of the Bible has nothing on a man named Harrison Okene. On May 26, 2013 three Nigerian tug boats were
towing a tanker at sea. Without warning,
the tug boat Harrison Okene was on rolled over and sank in 100 feet of water in
the Atlantic Ocean. The tug boat came to
rest on the bottom of the ocean, upside down.
It was presumed by all concerned that the 12 man crew of Okene’s tug
boat perished. What they did not know
was Okene had found a compartment with an air pocket and he was alive in the
upside down tug boat on the bottom of the ocean, 100 feet down. A diving salvage team was about 75 miles away
and they were called in to recover the bodies of the crew. Imagine the surprise of the diver who swam
into the compartment where Okene was and found him alive. Okene had survived some 3 days, 36 plus hours
in the dark on the bottom of the ocean.
Okene was rescued and according to many news outlets, gives God all the
glory for hearing his prayers and delivering him from death. What an amazing story.
Okene’s rescue
was recorded by a camera and lights on the helmet of the rescue diver. The image shows the light from the diver’s
helmet illuminating the room and the overwhelmed look on Okene’s face at seeing
another human being. Okene’s face
portrayed fear, shock, relief, and exhilaration all at the same time. He was and is truly thankful to have returned
to his family and friends alive after such an experience.
This story has
some pretty powerful spiritual application, if we but give it some
thought. The prophet Isaiah, speaking of
the birth and ministry of Jesus, said, “The people that walked in darkness have
seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon
them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9.2).
Those who are lost in their sin are like Okene, trapped in a life of
darkness with no hope of delivering themselves.
We cannot atone for our sin before God nor make restitution to Him for
the offense of our sin. The lost man is in
essence trapped in a life that, from a human perspective, is hopeless. But wait, suddenly there is a light in our
darkness. Suddenly there is one who
appears in the darkness, the one who is the true light of life. Jesus stood in the temple one day and said, “I
am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life” (John 8.12).
Like the light of that diver who
illuminated Okene’s dark world, so Jesus illuminates our hearts and minds with
the truth of the Gospel. Jesus came here
in human form to die on the cross and pay the debt of our sin. By faith we can confess our sin, repent of
our sin, and believe on Jesus by faith unto salvation and eternal life. Jesus is the light of truth that can deliver
us from the darkness of our sin. All we
have to do is by faith believe on Him.
No doubt Jonah
has a pretty good story to tell when we get to heaven. However, I don’t think he is going to have
anything on Harrison Okene who survived in an air pocket on the bottom of the
ocean. How wonderful to serve a God who
loves us and can hear our prayers from inside a big fish or even the bottom of the
ocean.
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