A tourist named Ivan was swimming in the ocean at Myti Beach in Greece when he was carried away by a series of powerful currents. Friends alerted the nearby coast guard, but they couldn’t find him, and he along with a friend were eventually declared to be lost at sea.

But 18 hours later, rescuers pulled Ivan out of the ocean, cold and shaken, but alive. That’s because shortly after his ocean ordeal began, he found an unexpected floatation device--a children’s ball. Just like Tom Hanks in the movie Cast Away, Ivan found himself clinging onto the ball for survival, except rather than a volleyball, it was a child-sized soccer ball.

Ivan’s recovery was covered extensively in Greek national media, and several newspapers carried the photo where he posed with his grateful father, the mayor of Kassandra, and the fateful ball. The ball in the photo caught the attention of a mom who recognized it as the toy her son lost at the beach 10 days prior. Not only had the sea currents pulled the ball over 80 miles before he was able to grab onto it, but Ivan testified that the ball was only half-inflated. In Ivan’s home region of north Macedonia, people are rightfully calling it a miracle.

Source: Sian Elvin, “Man survives 18 hours at sea by clinging on to football lost by boys on beach,” Metro UK (7-14-22)

Meditate: Philippians 3:12-21
Reflection: How do you take hold of God to keep you alive when all hope is gone? What has Jesus recently revealed to you of what lies ahead, and how does it affect you? Why do you think the apostle Paul urged his audience to pattern their lives after him?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, grab hold of me so I can grab hold of You. Grant me revelation to what You desire to do with my life. And use my life as an example for others to follow.