https://odb.org/2026/01/23/survivor
Romans 9:22–29 (NIV): 22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” 26 and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”
Charles Joughin was a sailor from the young age of eleven. He served as a baker on a number of ships and, in 1912, got hired on to a cruise ship sailing out of Southampton, England. That ship, the Titanic, hit an iceberg in the Northern Atlantic. As the ship went down, Joughin helped people into lifeboats. He himself stood atop the end of the Titanic as it sunk vertically into the water. Miraculously, he survived. Thirty years later, during World War II, Charles was on another ship, the RMS Oregon. It was rammed by another vessel, and it also sank. Remarkably, Joughin survived again.
We who believe in Jesus might need to be reminded of the remarkable truth that we are, by God’s mercy, survivors. Those who haven’t yet found Jesus in the troubled waters of life might do well to climb in the lifeboat. (Kenneth Petersen, Our Daily Bread 23rd January 2026)
It is interesting to paint a picture that as believers we are actually survivors. We are survivors, for example, of a shipwreck. The ship we were travelling on has sunk. We are clinging on to the wreckage. Then a lifeboat comes and Jesus pulls us out of the sea to save us.
This picture is true as our past life in the natural was headed to destruction. We were condemned to hell. Our spirit was dead. In a way, we were just drifting at sea with nowhere safe in sight. This is because we were essentially on the broad path that leads to destruction. We may appear to be surviving and successful, but in the spiritual realm we were dead and had remained dead.
Then Jesus comes along with a lifeboat in the form of the salvation message. We hear the message and respond to it by faith and thus we are now on the lifeboat. We are now going to a safe place. We will see land one day. We are on the narrow path headed to eternal life. The new heaven and new earth we spoke about yesterday.
My exaltation to all of us is that even though there may be times when life on the lifeboat may be hard or suffocating, we must remain seated. Don’t jump out of the lifeboat. Remain under the cover and protection of Jesus Christ. Jumping out may be tempting as the devil creates illusions of beauty and splendour, riches and pleasure, comfort and peace. They are all just make-believe illusions only. The reality is that outside of the lifeboat is the ocean and we will perish. Stay in the lifeboat until we land. Don’t jump out! We are survivors, not quitters!
Have a good weekend ahead, everyone! May we all find our peace and comfort in Jesus as we worship Him in songs, in celebration of His goodness upon our lives!
Ronnie's Thoughts 