WE PLACE OUR TRUST IN THEE
By Paul Zukunft, Session Elder
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9: 9-10:
It was the summer of 1973 when I found myself on the absolute lowest rung of the United States Coast Guard as a “swab” at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Part of our daily routine besides squaring corners and cranking out countless push-ups for the slightest indiscretion was to belt out our Service song, Semper Paratus (meaning “always ready”) at each formation three times a day. What we lacked in singing prowess we compensated with decibels, and the refrain goes like this:
“We’re always ready for the call, we place our trust in Thee, through surf and storm and howling gale, high shall our purpose be.”
At that time, our nation was in the process of extracting itself from the conflict in Viet Nam and the military uniforms that we wore did not garner the public respect that deservedly prevails today. Along with my classmates, I was giving it my all just to persevere through swab year not knowing what God had in store for me. So I placed my trust in Thee.
Fast forward, it was 45 years later when I retired from the Coast Guard in 2018, and through the grace of God, ascended every rung in that organization.
Of the many sea stories I accrued over those decades, one especially rings true as it relates to this theme. I was the commanding officer of the Coast Gutter Cutter RUSH home ported in Honolulu, yet patrolling the Bering Sea (home to the virtual reality TV series “Deadliest Catch”) in February 2002. At that time of year, “winter storms” that are truly Category 2 hurricanes ravaged the Bering Sea on a weekly basis.
In the midst of one of those storms, we took refuge in the lee of St. Paul Island when we received a call of distress from a fishing vessel with a crew of 26 that was foundering 700 miles west of our current position. So, yes, we answered that call.
As we rounded St. Paul Island, the RUSH was greeted with sustained winds of 90 knots and gusts of 110 knots. The pilot house of the RUSH, a 378-foot frigate was perched 55 feet above the ocean’s surface, and as we made best speed possible to render assistance, I was staring up, yes up, at the crest of sea swells that were washing over the bow of the ship. The ship’s log recorded those swells at 75 feet with an occasional rogue wave of 90 feet.
One of my “green” crew members (in more ways than one!) asked me, “Captain, are we all going to die?” I dismissively responded, “Naw, I’ve seen worse.” (I did not share that that was in the movie, “Poseidon Adventure”.)
Meanwhile, the captain of that fishing vessel was in a state of panic. They could hear us over the radio, but we were nowhere in sight. In fact, we were two days removed but checked in every 15 minutes to reassure the captain and his anxious crew that we were not going to let them perish, while providing hourly weather updates that indicated the storm was subsiding.
The vessel was nearly awash when we arrived on scene, and all 26 crew members were rescued without incident. To a person, they had all prayed fervently in their time of distress, and by trusting in the Lord, they were not forsaken. In fact, the captain said that every time he heard our voices over the radio at 15-minute intervals or roughly 200 transmissions throughout this ordeal, it was a testimony to their prayers being answered from a force that could not be seen.
After recovering all 26 crew members aboard the RUSH, the fishing vessel settled by its stern, then descended to the depths of Davey Jone’s locker. As I conversed with the captain in my cabin over a hot meal and cup of coffee, he acknowledged that he had never come to know God in his entire life but that his life had been changed dramatically, and for the better, by placing his trust in God.
Clearly, the hand of God had brought me full circle, from my off-key singing of Semper Paratus in 1973, to a seasoned seafarer in surf and storm and howling gale navigating with my trust in Thee.
Prayer: Almighty God, our lives have been surrounded by metaphorical surf, and storm and howling gales. We find ourselves immersed in a pandemic that has wreaked emotional grief and financial uncertainty, civil unrest, natural disasters and a divisive political climate.
Jesus taught in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has trouble enough of its own.”
Just as that captain and crew of that fishing vessel could not see their rescuers, we cannot see the Lord our God. But we take comfort in knowing that as we seek You God, we will not be forsaken. Amen.
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