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Shipwrecked

Shipwrecked

VIDEO: Shipwrecked

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The Maheno is the most famous of Fraser Island’s shipwrecks and has become a well-known landmark attraction on Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. It is located just 200 kms north of Brisbane on the east coast of Australia. Built on the other side of the world in Dumbarton, Scotland, the SS Maheno was launched in 1905 and was one of the very first turbine-driven steamers in the world.

The Maheno sailed a regular route between Sydney and Auckland, New Zealand, until she was commissioned as a naval hospital ship in Europe during World War One by the New Zealand Naval Forces.

After the war, the Maheno continued to cross the Tasman until 1935 when she was sold to Japan for scrap metal. As she was being towed to Japan a cyclone hit, snapping the tow chain, and leaving the Maheno to drift helplessly until she was shipwrecked on the shores of 75-Mile Beach on Fraser Island.

The Maheno wreck has rested undisturbed here for decades, a silent reminder of another era, of a journey ended too soon, and a disaster. Sometimes we feel that our lives are spinning out of control and that we are about to be shipwrecked. We face crippling loss, heartache, pain and suffering. Life as we know it seems to be over. In despair we search for an anchor and a lifeline.

But have you ever noticed that it is when we are shipwrecked by the problems in life, when we have nowhere else to turn, that we often reach out to God? In desperation, we cry out to God. Paul, a Bible apostle, knew how it felt when he faced shipwreck, “We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us” (2 Corinthians 1:9).

Until you have been shipwrecked in life, you will never know that God is all you need to cope in life. The apostle Peter wrote “Don’t be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you” (1 Peter 4:12).

God wants us to reach out to him. The Bible says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
We can learn things about God in our suffering that we can’t learn any other way. Joni Eareckson Tada, who became a quadriplegic at 17 years of age in a diving accident, says, “But only in suffering will we really know Jesus.”
When the storms of life wreak havoc on you, when your heart is broken, when you feel completely alone, when your life seems to be out of control, then remember that God is still with you. He hasn’t left your side. He is bigger than the problems in your life.
God has a purpose for our lives and it is greater than any setback or trial we face, greater than any disappointment, greater than any shipwreck in your life. He can help you to heal, find your purpose and start your life again.
We can be sure that God’s promises can be trusted. He has said that, He will never leave nor forsake us. He is waiting for us to choose to trust in Him.
If you would like to find out more about trusting in God’s promises, then I’d like to recommend the free offer we have for you today. It’s the Bible Reading Guide, God’s Plan for My Life. Just go to our TIJ website now to request your free offer.

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