Leaving the Shore Behind

When Paul stepped on that ship it appeared to be the start of a journey arranged by human authorities for political reasons. Though people did make the decisions that placed him on that particular vessel at that particular time, God was working above all, beneath all, and on every side to accomplish His plans. There was much in store for this voyage, and the One who rules “over the surging sea” (Psalm 89:9) would orchestrate all the paths and purposes. 

If you embrace the perspective of life as a voyage, a first step must be to choose who will be the captain of your ship. In our daily lives, a variety of people with their personal assignments and agendas may be in positions of authority over us, but for the surrendered follower of Christ this doesn’t define who is truly at the helm of the ship. We must know and believe that He is at the helm; He is the only One who can lead us in perfect wisdom and love. 

Understanding this principle gives us peace. When we know that Jesus is guiding the ship, our hearts are filled with confidence and hope—especially when we have no control over our circumstances. We can trust that He will take care of every detail of our lives. When He leads us on a new leg of our journey, we must be grounded by our own version of Christopher Columbus’s simple statement: “Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.” In our case, we follow the light of the Son, which means we do, indeed, leave the “old world” behind. 

Perhaps the toughest part of the voyage is the start, when we cast off and leave the shore behind. It is one thing to recognize that “deep calls to deep” (Psalm 42:7), knowing that God is pulling at the invisible ties of our souls, tugging on us to step out of the safety of the harbor into something more than the pursuit of our own dreams. It is another thing to get in the ship, cast anchor, and turn the helm over to Him.

His call is always active in our lives, no matter who we are, where we live, or how small the next step might seem. His purposes and plans go beyond all that we can imagine. Our perspective of destiny is so different from His—so much smaller. He sees the depth and breadth and height of all eternity! His perspective stretches from before this finite earth was created all the way to the eternal life that awaits us. Only He can knit together the lives, paths, and appointments that will fulfill His plans. 

He compassionately encourages us to embrace a dependent way of life and allow Him to write our story. He longs for us to let Him lead our voyage. When we surrender to Him to be the captain of the ship, we have no reason to fear—no matter our enemy, no matter our storm, no matter the seas on which we travel. He commands the high seas. He speaks, and the winds and waves obey. He alone set the sun, moon, and stars above. 

If we fully acknowledge both God’s power to do the impossible, as well as His unconditional, unfailing love for us, we move closer to a position of trust. At some point, it simply becomes an invitation to step off the dock and onto the deck of the ship. When life makes it challenging to leave the shore and let go of the helm, we can trust God in every way.  

Used with permission from Voyage: Trusting Jesus in Uncharted Waters by Kay Burnett, © 2017 by Gospel Publishing House. All rights reserved.

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