On my last post I was pointing out that when we find ourselves in the midst of a mighty storm we must face the wind valiantly and cut the waves with a 90 degrees angle. This must be done knowing that “The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea” (Psalm 93:4). Without this knowledge we are doomed to swerve and drift with the current of evangelical milksops, just as the Israelites did before David killed Goliath.
Lightening our ship
Another law of navigation that should be applied in times of great storm is to keep our ship as light as possible. This doesn’t mean the ship should be absolutely empty, for in the midst of a tempest an empty ship is as bad as a loaded one. It simply means we should be selective in regard to what we keep onboard. All the useless weight should be thrown overboard to give us a chance to stabilize the ship. The narrative found in Acts 27 gives us a good example of this procedure:
And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands” (Acts 27:18,19).
Here even the ship’s tackle was thrown into the sea. Only what was indispensable for their survival was kept aboard. As a matter of fact, if they would have done it earlier the ship might have been saved. No wonder the Scripture urges us to forsake this sort of encumbrances:
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1,2).
What is to be applied in a race is all the more urgent in a storm. The main problem for us resides in the fact that we are slow to obey this heavenly counsel, for our scale of values has been influenced by a secular society and there we are, clinging to a thousand futilities as useless as a compass on the North Pole. In fact, we don’t only cling to them but also labor to possess them as if our life would depend on them. So the belly of our ship gets full of these vanities and when the storm hits we find ourselves unwilling to forsake that for which we have worked so hard. So our vessel can barely keep afloat and when the mighty waves come they find us caught napping, unprepared to confront the tempest.
The importance of a good conscience
And then there is the dead weight of sin. To say that the moral decay found in the world is leaking through the roof of evangelicalism is to attest a plain truth. For what was happening in the days of Paul continues to occur at an increasing speed.
… having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck” (1 Tim. 1:19).
The guilty heart is by definition a doubtful heart, which can be compared to a broken ship fearing the storms. In high contrast, the person who has the testimony of a clean conscience will be able to remain calm in the midst of the tempest, for he knows God is with him. Actually he will rejoice in tribulations and fine-tune his sailing skills when facing opposition. To such a one the waves procure a healthy challenge and cause the growth of the inner man. This is not mere spiritualizing; it is the reality of human life amid existential hostilities.
The importance of preparation
The tempests confronting us might shake our moral life as well as our mind, or perhaps our human frame, or even our family, but in all cases these gales must be faced with resolve and serenity. To attempt to avoid them would amount to an unobtainable dream. The prudent person will rather expect them and prepare himself for the worst while trusting in the Sailor of all ages. That’s right! We, as the horse, must be prepared for the day of battle. If we are, the Lord will identify Himself with us and bring deliverance, for the eternal saying stands firm:
The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord” (Prov. 21:31).
Avoiding the rocks
At last, I would like to bring to your attention the importance of anchors while resisting a storm. Again, the narrative found in Acts 27 sheds valuable light:
Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land. And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come” (Acts 27:27–29).
Here the ship was approaching the land and the sailors had to make sure the vessel was not going to crash into the rocks. The same care must be applied while sailing through a tempest on the sea of life, for there are plenty of rocky coasts that imperil our success. Consequently we, like the sailors of old, will have to secure our ship while drawing near to the coast. Like them, we will have to make use of our anchor, i.e., of this hope that can reach the Presence behind the veil:
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil” (Heb. 6:19).
Here the author of Hebrews doesn’t refer to a mere wish, but to this certainty which is anchored into God’s very presence. This, and nothing else, can safeguard our vessel while approaching the coast. One thing is certain: before our journey comes to an end all that can be shaken will be shaken, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. In that process, the Christian hope will grant us the patience needed to endure until the coast is reached. To rush toward the seaboard would not only be foolish but destructive as well. Happily, the anchor will slow us down and prevent us from smashing into the rocks, for remember, all storms eventually come to an end.
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