There are different analogies in the Bible that reflect different aspects of the Christian Life. Jesus, talking about a specific facet of our relationship with himself, compares us to sheep. And referring to a different aspect of the same relationship He compares us with the branches of a vine. In another place He compares our faith to a mustard seed, and false teachers to wolves in sheep’s clothing. And the list goes on and on.
Life and the sea
Another meaningful analogy has to do with the similitude between life and the sea. Both can be calm, but also very tempestuous; and they can pass from one condition to another in a twinkling of an eye.
The story reported in Luke 8:22–25 is a good example of it. Jesus got into a boat with His disciples and soon after they had launched out a windstorm came down on the lake and they were filling with water and were in jeopardy. Here the radical change had come with no warning. Suddenly, the sky passed from blue to black and the boat from safety to peril.
The same is true about life. It can shift from perfect quietude to a gale in no time. All is well until the phone rings, and then, abruptly, comes the shocking news. It might be about a car accident, an unexpected sickness, a communiqué telling that you will be laid off next month, and promptly one finds himself challenged by the circumstances; tossed to and fro by the mighty waves surging from a coal black sea; disorientated and overwhelmed by the ferocity of it all. Such is life in its erratic variations.
Sailing on the sea
Now, if life can be compared to a sea, the Christian can be likened to a sailor sailing on that sea, and this, with all its conceivable weather disparities. Of course we would all prefer an equable and calm state of affairs where there are no waves and no wind coming against us, to float through life with ease and peacefulness. But life itself—by its very nature—denies us such reveries. Consequently, we must be prepared at all times, ready to face overpowering adversities until tranquility reoccurs. This high contrast between calmness and tempest is well exemplified in Psalm 107:
Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven” (Psalm 107:23–30).
This portion of Scripture presents a good description of the Christian life. How many of us have seen our soul melt because of trouble? Or reel to and fro while staggering like a drunken man, at our wits’ end in the midst of an enraged sea?
The psalmist had experienced such tempest when he wrote:
Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me” (Psalm 42:7).
Facing the waves and the wind
When sailing through a tempest, one of the most basic rules of navigation consists in cutting the waves with the prow. The narrative found in Acts 27 gives us a good example of this procedure.
But before very long there rushed down from the land a violent wind, called Euraquilo; and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along” (Acts 27:14,15).
Here the sailors were trying to face the wind, but the tempest was so aggressive that they were unable to do so. Nevertheless, their attempt teaches us an important truth: when confronted by a gale we should never turn our back to the wind and consequently to the waves. We must rather face them with determination and courage. To turn to the left or to the right would put our lives in jeopardy. The prophet Isaiah, prophesying about Jesus wrote:
The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed” (Isaiah 50:5–7).
Jesus could have turned away in the midst of the tempest, but He knew better, so He set His face like a flint knowing that the Father was going to help Him. There was no hesitation but rather single-mindedness, determination, and purposefulness. He had heard the Voice and He was going to act accordingly.
Paul was one of those sailors. Listen to his words:
And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:22–24).
The apostle to the gentiles knew he was about to cross a mighty storm. Yet the grim prospect didn’t cause him to change his course. He was going to face the wind and cut through the waves as to challenge the power of darkness. Turning aside was not an option for Paul. His face was also set like a flint, for He also knew God was going to help him.
Brethren! Let us not be intimidated by the circumstances as adverse as they may be. Let us learn from the sailors of old, facing the tempests with convictions and stout-heartedness as to break the waves and challeng the winds. This, and nothing else, will lead us to victory.
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