Some tips on sailing

James 1:2-8
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

A ship upon the sea is certain to weather storms. Rough winds, rolling waves, and sheeting rain are simply a part of sailing. A wise captain of a vessel, whether that be an ocean liner or a canoe, will learn to handle storms properly. Our lives can be compared to this.

We sail across the white crests and swells of life, not without aim, but towards that Promised Land to which our Savior has called us. Making for His safe harbor we constantly seek to keep our prow oriented by the compass of Scripture and look ahead longingly towards that shore which might at any moment be suddenly visible on the horizon.

Jesus also waits for us to arrive, and our arrival will occasion great celebration. This mutual desire that we reach our destination prompts our Lord to allow our vessel from time to time the privilege of encountering a storm.

This thought may sound odd. How can those trials, or storms, of life be counted as a privilege and a gift from heaven? Simply put, a ship needs wind to sail. Ponder with me how storms may be a blessing or a curse.

When a storm begins to form to our stern, how can we respond? In general, there are four courses we may take. One course is to ship sails and try to wait it out. This approach is at once easy and difficult. True it takes little effort to cease our striving, to stall in our spiritual growth and simply try to keep our heads low until the storm passes. However, what a terrible beating our vessel will often suffer while in the midst of the winds and waves! Also, storms are of different lengths, and some last for a very long time. How sad to have suffered so long only to emerge from the storm and be still where you were, or even blown off course!

A second response is to turn rudder and head back. Cutting back through the storm is done at the peril of two possible hazards. Either the ship will make it successfully through the storm but find itself greatly set back and with much sailing to do before it can regain the lost ground, or the ship may be caught in the clutches of the storm and suffer great damage.

Yet a third response to storms is to steer at a right angle and try to get out of the storm as quickly as possible. This approach is dangerous and hurtful, obviously, for it necessitates that the ship steer erratically, not guided by the compass of Scripture which alone can guide the vessel safely, but by the inclinations of the storm. Should the escape attempt be successful, it may take a great while before the ship even knows how far from its course it has drifted, let alone make progress again.

Finally, the fourth and best method for dealing with storms is to hold the wheel firm, open the sails full, and trust in the One who sent the storm that the winds will be for your good and not evil. Remember, He has promised you every resource you need to survive, and not just to survive, but to live a life of abundance. Should you feel the hull of your vessel quake beneath you, fear not, for God has supplied what you shall need. Sometimes this will come by a strengthening of your vessel from the inside, a reinforcing of those timbers and planks which keep everything together. At other times He will cause another ship, stronger and more experienced than you, to sail up alongside you and aid you through. In all cases, however, He who loves His own to the end will never let you shatter and sink. If you trim your ship like this, what great speed you will make towards your goal! What endurance you will produce to give you the strength needed to complete your journey!

My brethren, when the storm breaks upon you, trust Him! The winds are not to destroy. The winds carry you home.