Being Driven!

Walking yesterday morning I enjoyed watching the waves splashing against the shore, but the strong wind gave me a bit of a workout as I walked against it. There were times the wind was with me and other times the wind was against me, but there was a SPECIFIC COURSE of which I was determined to walk. As I walked against the wind and thought about sailing ships on the water, the words of an old poem attributed to Ella Wheeler Wilcox (U.S. poet and writer, 1850-1919) began running through my mind.

“One ship drives east and other drives west by the same winds that blow.
It’s the set of the sails and not the gales that determines the way they go.”

Sailing vessels are equipped with rudder and sails and the pilot and crew develop the skill to STAY THE COURSE even when the winds might be against them. To me it is an amazing science of positioning the sails and tacking that makes it possible to continue moving in the right direction.

This is often the picture of life. There are times when the “winds of thought” blow against us, making it difficult to keep pressing on. Do we allow those winds to determine OUR COURSE or are we learning to navigate the direction we ought to remain going? In order for us to remain ON COURSE we must allow ourselves to be equipped with what God has provided.

Paul, writing to the church at Ephesus, stated…
“(11) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, (12) TO EQUIP THE SAINTS FOR THE WORK OF MINISTRY, for building up the body of Christ, (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (14) SO THAT WE MAY NO LONGER BE CHILDREN, TOSSED TO AND FRO BY THE WAVES AND CARRIED ABOUT BY EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (15) Rather, SPEAKING THE TRUTH in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, (16) from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” ( Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV)

If we allow the winds of the thoughts of men to drive our lives we will find ourselves going this way and that and who knows what the destination might be. Let us not allow ourselves to be driven by the winds of the doctrines of men, but rather be driven by the truth God has brought through His chosen messengers and has preserved in the pages of Scripture. Allowing the truth of God to fill the sails of our life, we will be able to remain on the COURSE He has set before us and we can be assured of ultimately arriving in the safe harbor of His heavenly home.

Have a great day FOLLOWING THE COMPASS BEARING TOWARD GOD!
Carl

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