Grace Darling was on watch from her second-story room of Longstone Lighthouse. In the early hours before daylight, the sea roared and bashed the base of her offshore lighthouse home. This was typical: stormy, windy, cold and treacherous.

As seawater sprayed on her window, she wondered what ships may be at sea. The North Sea passages on the northeast coast of England are menacing, fraught with reefs and jagged rocks that can rip open a ship’s hull with one fatal thrust from a wave.

As Grace gazed through the surf-speckled window, the most alarming sight appeared in the distance. Through the muted morning light, about a mile away, she noticed a number of small figures—a shipwrecked crew, clinging to a rocky island! She cried out to her father, “We need to help them!”

Grace was a capable 23-year-old woman with a strong sense of duty, but her father, William, was reluctant to let her help for fear of what might happen to her. Yet safely operating their 21-foot rowboat in such a storm required two people. William knew he couldn’t help those men alone. He needed her help, and Grace was competent. This was part of their role as lighthouse keepers. For those shipwrecked sailors, the two of them were the sole hope of rescue.

William and Grace launched into action. They took a longer route through the reefs to safely navigate the jagged rocks that had splintered the SS
Forfarshire, the stranded sailors’ vessel.

When they reached the rocky island, they found nine survivors: five crewmen and four passengers, including one woman who had lost her children in the shipwreck. While William helped half of the distressed sailors into the rowboat, Grace kept it steady alongside the rocks. They would have to return for the second group.

Father and daughter safely rowed the woman and a few of the men back to the lighthouse. Once there, Grace stayed behind to care for the exhausted, cold and hungry survivors while her father returned with a couple of men to rescue the remaining crew. Within two hours, all nine were safe.

Grace and her mother comforted and fed the weary survivors. They were deeply grateful. Had Grace not been watchful and ready to rescue them, they might have suffered the same fate as the 52 other passengers and crew on the Forfarshire.

This event happened on Sept. 7, 1838. For their courage, Grace and William were awarded the Royal National Lifeboat Institution Silver Medal for Gallantry. Queen Victoria gave Grace £50 in recognition of her sense of duty and commitment to serving the needs of others while risking her life.

Grace’s story became one of national pride throughout Britain. She was shy and reserved, so she stayed offshore at the lighthouse to avoid publicity and to continue her duties.

Tragically, Grace contracted tuberculosis and died about four years later in 1842. But her valorous story has endured. The lives of thousands of visitors to Longstone Lighthouse have been brightened by the story.

God’s Work needs people like Grace. It needs dedicated members eager to help their Father save lives. Although God is not calling all the world today, He is delivering a hope-filled gospel message with a warning, preparatory to the establishment of His Kingdom on Earth and the opening of salvation to all mankind. Some will respond today!

God is specifically reaching out to His Laodicean children—those who had a relationship with Him but whose love has waxed cold. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, saying that many “have rejected their moral compass and have made a shipwreck of their faith” (1 Timothy 1:19; Amplified Bible). The Laodiceans, though ignorant of their spiritual condition, are like those few survivors stranded in a North Sea storm—except they are in mortal and eternal danger. God is trying to reach them! He wants our help.

Concerning the Laodiceans, Pastor General Gerald Flurry writes: “We may be able to help them by doing this work. You can help the ministry by supporting God’s warning message. That is how you reach out to them …” (Jude). He also writes, “We are warning them with the hope of saving them—physically and spiritually!” (Obadiah: The Most Terrifying Message in the Bible).

Like Grace and her father, we need to get in the boat and row hard. This means supporting God’s Work now. Offer fervent prayers for God’s apostle to reach the largest audience possible, especially the Laodiceans, with God’s message. Sacrifice financially in your offerings. Draw near to those in your congregation so we become a more unified and potent force for good in God’s hands.

“This world’s greatest need is for saviors!” Mr. Flurry continues. “God is sending them now. And whether people listen to us now or not, we shall be even more powerful saviors in God’s Kingdom.”

This is a life-saving Work! Let’s do all we can to support our Father as He reaches out to save the shipwrecked.