Days ago, a fishing boat near the Shetland Islands needed emergency help, and received it in a timely manner. So, a fearful predicament had a happy ending.1
In many places of the world, fishing is a dangerous occupation. Consequently, it is a fearful situation when a fishing or shrimping boat, somewhere out in ocean waters, begins to take on seawater faster than the boat’s pump can expel it.2
Somehow seawater invaded the Scotland-registered Tranquility’s fish-hold, so emergency help was urgently called in. And needed help came, quickly.
It’s a good situation when needed help is quickly provided by more than one nearby source! And that is what happened to the imperiled fishing boat.
Of course, avoiding an emergency is to be preferred, if possible.2
But unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances sometimes must be faced. In such perilous times it is good to have help provided.
Christians realize that God is always there to give the help needed.3 Sometimes that need is providentially provided for through helpful humans—such as family, friends, neighbors, or even strangers.4
Even animals sometimes come rushing to the rescue, as first responders who rush to the rescue on hearing a cry for help.5,6
For example, when a large predatory bird attacks a small bird (or its nest of hatchlings), the imperiled bird’s alarm-cry is often followed by a “mob” attack. A crowd of “vigilante” small birds chase and peck the predator, who often flees to avoid the group counter-attack.
This has often been observed in corvid birds—the family of crows—such as Eurasia’s Siberian jay.
Likewise, North America has scrub jays, corvid birds that practice mobbing. They do this to provide group protection against a predatory bird or snake.
A friend in need is a friend indeed!
Stage image: Coastguard search and rescue helicopter and Tranquility.
Stage image credit: Ross Robertson. Copyright © 2020. Adapted for use in accordance with federal copyright (fair use doctrine) law. Usage by ICR does not imply endorsement of copyright holders.
References
1. Tranquility (LK 63) is a fishing trawler. Regarding the recent emergency (and rescue) at sea, see Cope, C. 2020. Emergency Services: Fishing Vessel Takes in Water North of Unst. Shetland News. Posted on shetnews.co.uk June 4, 2020, accessed June 5, 2020.
2. Statistics represent real human lives. Near Greenland, en route to North America, the Titanic sank on April 14, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg. During the summer of 2002, not far from Greenland, NCL’s cruise ship Norwegian Dream had left Reykjavik, Iceland, and was aimed at St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada, when weather reports indicated icebergs and very serious storms, so an alternate course was taken to avoid the risky area. This writer (who was then serving as NCL’s onboard lecturer, teaching Viking history and geography) recalls hearing that a nearby shrimp boat had been overwhelmed by the storm and was lost to the Atlantic Ocean—thankfully after all of its crew was rescued.
3. Psalm 46:1; Matthew 14:30-31; Hebrews 4:16.
4. Proverbs 27:10; Luke 10:25-37. Sometimes providing help to strangers can lead to unexpected outcomes, in some cases ultimately leading to new family relationships and future generations. The Vinland Sagas record how Leif Eiriksson (and his fellow Vikings) once rescued some stranded shipwreck survivors, one of whom later married Leif’s brother. Johnson, J. J. S. 2019. “Snorri Thorfinnsson, First Viking Baby Born in North America, Born to Iceland-born Gudrid Thorbjornsdottir, Shipwreck Survivor Rescued by Leif Eiriksson.” Leif Eiriksson Rekefest Lecture Series. September 28, 2019. Arlington, TX: Norwegian Society of Texas, 8 pages.
5. Thomas, B. Jay Talking. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org June 29, 2009, accessed June 5, 2020.
6. O’Daniel, D. Scrub Jays: The Ultimate Bird Brain. Answers in Genesis. Posted on answersingenesis.org June 23, 2019, accessed June 5, 2020.
*Dr. Johnson is Associate Professor of Apologetics and Chief Academic Officer at the Institute for Creation Research.
