The winds that God created to blow across the seas of His creation are welcomed by seafaring mariners in schooners that depend on the wind to get them across the waters.
I have never been on a sailing
schooner or sailboat. They are propelled
forward when the wind fills the sails and pushes these vessels to their
destinations.
If sailboats and sailing ships
are not equipped with diesel or gas-powered motors as backups, it is most
probable that passengers and crew members can become stranded at sea if the
wind ceases to blow.
A vessel that is dead in the water will drift aimlessly at the mercy of ocean currents without deliberate
forward motion. Having no wind and
mechanical problems with a backup motor will hamper any effort by the crew and helmsman to
head in the direction of their choosing. It is futile.
I can relate to this
illustration, because I was spiritually adrift on the sea of rebellion in my
fleshly vessel before I saw the light and became a Christian. Struggling with self-indulgent living,
without a safe harbor in sight, I was lost in uncharted waters of regret and
heartache.
Yes, my sails were trimmed but
facing the wrong direction. They were
not properly positioned to catch the perfect wind—God’s breath of life. Foolishly, my sails were trimmed to receive
more of the blowing wind of sin and things that caused calamity.
Because of my selfish desire
for fun and bad behavior, I failed to prepare my sails to collect the wind of
the Holy Spirit that would fill them and propel me in the right direction
toward home and the safety of God’s harbor, (heaven). I was in bad shape.
My navigational rudder was out
of commission, because of the worldly sandbars and rocky shorelines upon which
I was constantly running a-ground. I was
broken and taking on water due to the holes in my vessel, caused by sinful
storms of my own making, while rejecting God through my contrived devices of
rebellion.
It seemed I was always finding
myself in turbulent surroundings. I was
exhausted from trying to bail out the water of sin in my own strength and
self-righteousness. I refused to face
the fact that I needed supernatural help.
I was sinking in the darkness
of a non-forgiving storm of sin with no help in sight. I was looking in the wrong direction for
assistance. So-called friends and
colleagues had abandoned ship and left me to weep alone as I screamed into the
void of night for someone to throw me a lifeline.
Blinded by sin and darkness, I
felt the unescapable water rising around me as my vessel was being swamped and
ready to capsize. Self-indulgent sailing
was my downfall with many regrets. I was
staring death in the face as I sank deeper in sin.
Suddenly, out of the corner of
my eye, I caught a glimmer of hope. I
saw a light through my tears. It was a
lighthouse off the starboard side, the right side of my vessel. My sin-seeking visual was always on the port
side, away from that which was right.
I finally realized that hope
and any kind of help was fruitless when peering in the wrong direction. As I turned my face toward the light, it
seemed as if it was beckoning me and calling my name, “Dennis, come unto me if
you are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
God’s safe harbor is crucial
for our spiritual survival. I realized
that the lighthouse was Jesus. He was
reaching out to me all the while, but I was too busy looking elsewhere. I would not look His way. I only needed to look at Him because He was
my help and hope. In Jesus I found
forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting.
I was saved by grace.
I do not fear the winds of
confusion and doubt, because God is the captain and pilot of my vessel. The wind of God's Spirit is pushing me forward, closer and closer to home each day. In Him I live!
Written by,
Papa Boyd
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