Every day they nervously noted the different kinds of sharks near their boat. At first, they were jittery about the sharks when they went into the water. They had been warned repeatedly of the danger of sharks in these waters and so they were very cautious. No cameraman on their ship was allowed to swim out for pictures alone; instead they traveled in pairs. One carried the camera while the other carried a harpoon, ready for any danger.

Once while peering through the water, Captain Jack could just make out the shape of a huge shark in the gloom ahead. As it moved closer, his heart missed a beat as he saw the immense jaws of the nearly 25-foot-long monster. He moved closer to his friend Nick who had the harpoon. Their muscles tensed as they watched the great fish swimming slowly toward them. Suddenly the shark caught sight of the two men. Fear and fascination filled Jack and Nick. To their intense relief the shark whirled and swam away, seemingly in fear.

Days of filming passed, and the two friends gradually became less afraid of sharks. Before long. Jack even went out looking for sharks to film. Even the sharks known as man-eating sharks seemed to be afraid of the men and would turn and swim away. Jack and his friends were certainly becoming foolish about playing around with sharks. One day one of the men swam into a cave with sharks and pulled their tails. The sharks darted outside the cave and swam away while Jack’s friends filmed them.

Let’s pause to think for a minute. Have you lost your fear of sinning against God like Jack and his friend lost their fear of sharks? God’s book, the Bible, tells us that there are “passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25 NKJV). Sin might not always seem like it’s all that bad; it might even seem like fun. But Jack and his friend would soon find sharks to be extremely dangerous. So is sin!

Finally, one day Jack decided to take the Elie Monnier away from the islands for some deep-sea filming. As soon as they reached deeper waters, Nick sighted a small whale. He and Jack grabbed their camera and dove in to follow it beneath the waves. Only 15 feet beneath the surface they noticed an 8 foot-long gray shark. Fearlessly they swam toward it, assuming that it would run from them as all the others had. Instead, it headed toward them and began to circle. Nick reached for the shark’s tail and gave it a twist. The shark just shook him off and continued slowly circling the two men. Fascinated by the shark, the men started being drawn deeper and deeper into the depths of the ocean.

They would soon find out what terrible danger they were in. Swimming up beneath them were two vicious-looking, 16 foot-long, steel-blue sharks. Finally, Jack and Nick became afraid. Surrounded by sharks and more than 60 feet beneath the surface of the ocean, they struggled to keep down panic as the sharks slowly circled closer and closer. Jack blew air bubbles at the sharks to scare them off, but it didn’t work. Then he tried a chemical that had worked to drive away sharks before. The gray shark swam right through the chemicals and closed in on the desperate men. It swam directly toward Jack until its giant jaws completely filled his vision. In desperation Jack smashed his camera against the shark’s snout! It veered away, but soon began to circle again.

Fighting their way to the surface, Jack and Nick grew more and more tired. Their strength began to give out, and the sharks seemed to be closing in for the kill. Their efforts had failed to drive off the sharks, and they were as helpless as a mouse in the clutches of a cat. The sharks moved faster and faster as they closed in on Jack and Nick.

The two friends managed to reach the surface and they desperately tried to get the attention of the crew on the Elie Monnier. But no one on the ship seemed to notice them.

Exhausted, one man kept watch for the sharks while the other rested. When the sharks approached, they dove toward them and turned the sharks aside. But their oxygen supply was dwindling. Soon they would be forced to dive while holding their breath. Before long they wouldn’t have the strength to dive, and then ...

They had almost given up hope when suddenly a shadow moved over their heads, and the sharks turned and dove into the depths of the ocean. The ship’s crew had finally seen their attempts to alert them. The shadow of the Elie Monnier’s hull passing overhead had driven off the sharks.

Just as the men were drawn into danger by their careless fascination with the sharks, sometimes even young boys and girls get into serious trouble because of careless fascination with some sin. The Bible tells us that “each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). Jack and Nick felt trapped by the sharks, just as some people are trapped by their sin.

But thankfully God, who is loving, holy and all-powerful, always hears our cries for help. He will always help anyone who cries to Him, freely forgive them for their sins, and free them from its power. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15). That is God’s promise, and God cannot lie. God can hear us because the Lord Jesus died on the cross and took the punishment for sins. Won’t you call to Him for salvation and help today? We can tell you how.

Adapted from Messages Of God’s Love, March 23, 2025, Bible Truth Publishers