She was enjoying her time in the water when she felt something slam into her body. A shark, about six to eight feet long, bit into her right shoulder and chewed her forearm before swimming away.

Terrified, Julie tried desperately to reach shore. She was bleeding profusely. Fearing the blood would draw other sharks, she tried harder to reach the shore. “Help me!” she cried. “Help me!”

A young man on a surf board nearby heard her cry and began moving in her direction. When he reached her, he quickly pulled her onto his board and paddled to the shore. Julie received emergency medical attention that saved her life.

As I thought about Julie’s predicament and her cry for help, I was reminded of the prophet Jonah, who also had a crisis with a large water creature. After trying to avoid doing what God wanted him to do, Jonah ran into trouble as a passenger on a ship. He was tossed overboard and soon swallowed by a big fish. Now captive by the creature, Jonah went beneath the waves and the deep closed around him. He went down as far as one could go (Jon. 1:17-2:10).

With death fast approaching, he became worried and afraid. But despite the severity of his situation, he found hope because he remembered the Lord. The Bible states: “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: ‘I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice’” (Jon. 2:1-2 NKJV).

Although sinking to the lowest depths and feeling his life was over, Jonah cried out to God for help and was saved. What an important message for us! We too can be rescued from our sinful condition and have our sins forgiven, if we call out to God for help.

Perhaps you’ve never been attacked by sharks like Julie, or swallowed by a big fish like Jonah, but if you don’t know Christ as your Savior, you’re still in deep trouble. The Bible says that we’re all sinners (Rom. 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). This means that if you live without Christ and die in your sins, you will face eternal punishment (Jn. 3:18; Rev. 20:15).

But you don’t have to fret, because the help you need is closer than you think. Like the surfer who was near Julie when she was attacked, God is near you this very moment. As the Bible says, “He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27).

If you call out to Him for help to save you from the power and penalty of sin, He will hear you and come to your rescue. The Bible also says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

God will save you because of what Christ did on the cross. He died for your sins and He rose from the dead to secure your freedom. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).

Call out to God for help today! Trust Him now, and let Him save you by taking you to the shore of eternal life. We can tell you more.

By Roscoe Barnes III