July 9, 2010 Trusting God In Someone Else's Ship

Have you ever felt frustrated when you feel the person in charge is making a serious mistake?  I have.  I've been a "voyager in someone else's ship" most of my life-- as a child dependent on parents in a troubled marriage, as a teenager in a ultra-restrictive boarding school, as a college student on scholarships trying to please a demanding professor, as a young new-Christian wife struggling to submit to her less-than-wise husband, as an employee attempting to do good work under a corrupt boss, and even as a church member trying her best to follow a confused pastor.  I'm sure there are as many tales like this as there are people.  The challenge is to stay true to our faith and keep our trust in the Lord.

Once we come of age, we often have choices about what we will do about a "captain" who is sailing off into a seemingly life-threatening storm.  I've had to make some difficult decisions, but the Lord was always with me through it all.  The Apostle Paul had a word from God to keep him staying on with a ship that was sure to sink. That takes some strong faith!  Sometimes marriage feels like a sinking ship, and if you're a wife, you may feel like jumping!  (Fortunately, we're not prisoners as Paul was, although it may feel like it sometimes.  Reminding ourselves of our desire to make the commitment can help us weather the storm.) Guys have a different problem: they are the ones who have to decide where to take that ship.  I'm glad I don't have to take the helm!  However, sometimes we have to say what we see, whether it's believed or not.  Paul did.  Then he just had to hold on to his vision and trust in God for the outcome.  I have to wonder what was going on in Dr. Luke's mind during all this, since he was on the ship too!

Prayer is always the first action we should take-- it should be automatic.  That's when we get our directions, and peace.  So often, things just seem to straighten themselves out when we pray.  Staying in the Word, too, keeps our eyes focused on the Lord:  isn't He really the Captain of our life anyway?  He knows exactly what's going on, and He's committed to our well-being.  He is the manager of our trials.  Even though being under the leadership of, or even being dependent on, another human being is probably one of the most difficult trials we undergo, we can be assured that the Lord is still watching over us for our benefit-- and for the other person's as well.

There are times we feel we must confront.  Emotional pleas just do not work!  I've tried it many times, and I simply give up.  My overwrought emotional state doesn't convince anyone of my ability to think clearly!  I will not be listened to, no matter how right I am.  Getting my focus on the Lord and seeking Him for peace is top priority.  Then, I may be heard by the "captain" if I present the information I have with calm and clarity.  It's up to him, then, to decide what to do with my intelligence (it's called intelligence for a reason-- you'd better know what you're talking about if you want to be listened to).  I must maintain in faith.

Even if you end up having to go through a shipwreck, know this: God is able to preserve you.  His ways are always redemptive, never forget.  He may be working with the "captain" of the ship you're in, to bring some level of change or repentance or growth; but even if it's mostly about them, guess what?  God's going to bring you to another level of faith, trust, backbone, maturity-- whatever it is you need to grow in.  He uses all things for our good, even shipwrecks.