A sea captain almost ended his life while awash at sea until God intervened and now he's sharing his testimony bringing hope to any who will listen. 

Captain Johnny Savage was 27-year-olds when he ventured out on a 350-mile boat trip from Key West, Florida, to Cancun, Mexico. Savage was onboard the 56-foot sports fishing boat with Captain Eric Bingham. The boating expedition was 24 years ago but the impact on Savage's life remains today. 

At the beginning of their fateful trip, the men decided against putting an emergency locator or life raft in the boat's cockpit. 

Just a few hours into their long journey, a storm crashed upon them in the middle of the Gulf Stream. During the rain, lightning, and wind, a massive wave tore their vessel in two.

"We looked in front of us; it was like nothing I've ever seen before in my life," says Savage. "It was like a hole. We were in a two-to-three-foot sea when the Anhinga [the ship] went off this edge and went down into this, this rogue wave, the whole boat fell into it."

Everything the sailors needed to be rescued including the radio, lifeboat, lifejackets, and locator beacon were sinking to the depths of the ocean. 

Savage and his captain were tossed on the stormy waters for roughly 12 hours and it was at this point the first mate decided to end it all. 

"I got to the point where I had made a decision that drowning would be better than getting ripped apart by sharks. So, I had planned my death."

Just before he made the decision to commit suicide, Savage had a life-changing experience. 

"I was in the process of going under, and suddenly, the greatest feeling of warmth and just strength, power just overcame my whole body. "

Moments later, a 72-foot fishing boat found them and rescued them. Savage says it is only because of God that he is alive and survived the shipwreck. 

"In that moment, I knew He was real, and He was with me because it was impossible for me to have the strength to get back to Eric. The overwhelming feeling of warmth was not me, and I knew He is real."

The tale of overcoming insurmountable odds is now available in Savage's new book, Lost in the Stream: The Miraculous Story of Two Fishermen Lost at Sea.

"I think we're in a time where people need hope. People need to know that no matter how bad things look in front of you, you can have hope that it'll work because it's all part of His plan. If I could take and give every person a drop, just a mustard seed of that faith that I had in that moment, it would carry them through whatever trial comes in their life."

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