(Continued from May 18)
During the seven days and nights which followed, Elizabeth never lost hope. When she later told the story of those days, she simply said that she put her trust in the Lord and that she believed He would bring her safely to land. She had only a bottle of milk and two crackers in her cabin and she carefully hoarded them. There was plenty of food on board but it was impossible for her to reach it. For a week she never slept but every now and then stood up and looked around for the sail which never appeared. At last, becoming too weak to keep her constant watch, she tied herself close to the hatchway, fearing lest she might roll away from her post of observation, and be unable to get back to it.
On the eighth day the vessel beached among the rocks near Aalesund, Norway. A crowd of Norwegian villagers noticed the vessel as she drifted in and a brave young fisherman thought he saw someone in the boat. Taking a rope with him, he swam out and found Elizabeth tied to the hatchway, still alive and still confident in her trust in the Lord. She was drawn ashore by the rope and thus her long voyage to Norway was ended. She found herself among strangers who spoke a different language, but was kindly cared for at a farmhouse until she was strong enough to be sent home to the Shetland Islands. She received a letter from Queen Victoria containing a gift of twenty pounds.
A Norwegian gentleman, writing about the place where the unpiloted vessel drifted ashore, said that if the Columbine had not been steered by an almighty Hand, she never would have been able to get clear of the thousands of rocks along the Norwegian shore and chosen the only place where she could have beached!
Elizabeth did not see the Lord Jesus walking upon the waves and drawing near to her in the dark night, as the disciples did in the Gospel of John, chapter 6; but surely she heard His voice through the storm, hushing her spirit and saying to her as He did to them,
The same blessed One who was Elizabeth's strong refuge can guide your life too, dear reader. Trust in the Lord Jesus today and then you will be able to say:
"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; the God of my rock; in Him will I trust: He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my Saviour." 2 Samuel 22:2, 32And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; 3The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. (2 Samuel 22:2‑3).
Messages of the Love of God 5/25/1958