Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Paul stood in the midst of them, and said,“ . . . now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.” (Acts 27:22, NKJV)

Shortly before midnight on April 14, 1912, four days into the ship's maiden voyage, the passenger liner Titanic struck an iceberg, with an unthinkable result. The unsinkable ship sank two hours and forty minutes later, early on April 15, 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.
The Titanic ‘wireless’ (radio) operator began tapping out a distress message immediately after striking the iceberg: CQD - MGY.....CQD - MGY... which translates to: CQ = attention all stations, D = distress or danger, and MGY was Titanic's radio call letters(1). There was apparently much confusion concerning the interchange of messages between ship and shore wireless stations. Wireless protocol was not fully developed at the time; many ships had no radio equipment at all, and still others shut down their radio room at night. The closest ship didn’t get the message about the sinking(2).
One of the fascinating accounts in the Book of Acts describes a shipwreck on the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean. The voyage began at the port of Caesarea, in Palestine, with the intent to sail to Italy. The ship, carrying the Apostle Paul and some other prisoners, sailed within sight of land, along the coasts of Asia, past Cyprus, to the city of Myra. There, they changed ships, and set sail for Rome.
Sailing became increasingly dangerous. Paul counseled the men that the voyage would end in disaster. (Acts 27:10) They intended to sail on, to winter in the harbor at Crete. However, the ship was caught in tempestuous head winds, and driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea.
Fearful of running aground, they struck the sail, and lightened the ship by throwing cargo and the ship’s tackle overboard. Still, the storm raged for several days; the men gave up all hope that they could be saved.
Finally, Paul stood in the midst of them, and told them that they would indeed run aground, loosing the ship, but that not one soul would be lost. An angel of God had appeared to Paul, and assured him that he indeed would be brought before Caesar in Rome.
On the fourteenth night of the storm, Paul gave thanks to God, broke bread, and began to eat. They were encouraged, and also took food themselves. They ran the ship aground, and although it was broken up by the waves, every one of the two hundred seventy-six persons on the escaped safely to land.
While there are many differences between the two shipwrecks, including the type and size of the ships, and the reason for their destruction, there are similarities as well. The Titanic was thought to be unsinkable; the helmsman and owner of the Alexandrian ship had more influence than Paul as the voyage began, thinking themselves and the ship to be capable of weathering the storm. Leaders stepped forward in both cases, with Paul setting the example when all hope that they would be saved was finally given up.
Paul didn’t have a radio to send a distress call, but he did have prayer, and his God heard him, loud and clear! God sent back a message, via angel: “There will be no loss of life among you.” Wherever he went, in whatever situation he encountered, Paul was a faithful witness to God.
March 7, 2010

Notes:
(1)The distress signal, SOS, was also used, but it was not the primary signal at the time. Contrary to popular belief and myth, CQD and SOS do not stand for any particular words, such as, ”Save our Ship,” or, “Come Quick Disaster.” They are merely a ‘code’ call, a set of telegraphy characters easily recognizable by all operators.
(2)The Titanic disaster would prove the necessity of having radios on ships and the necessity of having them manned on a 24 hour basis. At the third international radiotelegraph conference in 1912, it was agreed that ships would listen for distress signals on a wavelength of 600 meters. International law required each ship to cease transmitting for three minutes at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. During this interval they were required to listen for distress calls.