Being on a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean, with no land in sight, might be one of the most terrifying experiences a person can endure. While it doesn’t take forever, drowning can be extremely painful. To begin with, a drowning person usually panics, leading to hyperventilation. But instead of air, the person will breathe in water. This reaction will lead to a vocal cord spasm known as laryngospasm. But what causes the most pain is breathing in the water. Even for those who survive, their lungs remain in pain for some time. Recently I accidentally inhaled some water while drinking. The next ten to twenty seconds could have been a lifetime as I struggled to breathe. The laryngospasm experience stayed with me for days.
Taking on Water
This planet is a sinking ship, and its people are in danger of drowning. We know that from Revelations. Eventually, it will be gone. But the great news is that God will replace it with a new world without sin, pain, and death. But who will survive the sinking?
Matthew 8:27, “The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you.” -AUTHOR UNKNOWN
Our challenge, as Christians, is focus. In our current age of Post-Modern thinking, we are bombarded by social media, expounding every conceivable idea and opinion known to man. There seems to be no end to the variation and depth of discourse. I don’t care what you believe; you can find a group of people who agree. During many dinner conversations, I am amazed at how two people with diametrically opposed opinions are convinced they are right; both having the facts and figures to back up their position.
James 3:4, “Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.”
The sinking ship we live on is about what is around us that can’t be allowed to get in us. Salvation is not about what you achieve here on earth but what you store in heaven. Don’t get so engrossed in the temporal that you lose sight of the eternal. Make Christ your Pilot.
Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”
Unsinkable
God has created you for great things. How can you achieve this lofty ambition in a dysfunctional world? Again, the answer is focus. God created us for His great pleasure.
Isaiah 43:21, “the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”
What was God’s plan for us to demonstrate His worthiness? It was for us to do good and live well on the land. Jesus set out the parameters of living well succinctly. He didn’t mince words or provide alternatives. He said it as plainly as He could.
Matthew 22:37-40, “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Do not let the outside influence of the world start to dictate your thoughts. The future belongs to God and God alone. His foundation is not worldly but eternal, grounded in love.
1 Corinthians 13, “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
We have a ship stocked with everything we need to survive and prosper. God’s provision for us is eternal. Troubles will come and go; opinions will rise and fall, but God’s love will endure forever.
There’s a strange sense of pleasure in being beaten to hell by a storm when you’re on a ship that will not sink. — Jimmy Buffett
Climb aboard the ship that will not sink.
Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”