Week 43/2024
A word fitly spoken is like APPLES OF GOLD in a setting of silver – Proverbs 25v11
This week we will look at another amazing comment in our study in Proverbs 30v19 – “the way of a ship on the high seas”. The Jewish people of that time were not sea faring, so it was amazing to the writer that the ship moved without being towed or pushed. It even moved forward when there was a headwind. But it cannot sail without someone in charge who has the knowledge to best utilize the wind, who understands the currents, who knows the perils of hidden rocks and knows where the destination is and that the shortest route is not always the fastest or safest. But we are like a ship on the seas and we need a captain to navigate us through life. Who are you entrusting your life to? There are only 2 types of captains of our ship – me or Christ.
A famous poem called Invictus finishes with “I am master of my fate and captain of my soul” and this sums up the secular world view which maintains “I don’t need God” as I am confident in my own ability to reach my life’s destination. But God warns in Joshua 3v4 that if we are captain of our ship, we may make a huge mistake because “you have not passed this way before.” We don’t know where the hidden dangers are, and we make a shipwreck of our lives. We get confused about our destination and when the headwinds of peer pressure come, we are swept off course.
Christians on the other hand have as our captain, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2v10) who knows our destination and the dangers because He has been this way before. Maybe He doesn’t take us the shortest way to our destination, but it will be the fastest and safest. There is nothing more amazing than seeing people on the high seas of life being calm, content and confident because Christ is their captain.
Who is your captain of your soul – Christ or the big I?
Who knows the way – Christ or your friends?
Who can navigate through treacherous seas and hidden rocks – Christ or celebrities?
Who can sail you soul through the headwinds of life – Christ or social media?
Be careful in deciding who to follow.
From the former writings of our late Graeme Greenwood