Sail against the Wind

Back in the days of sailing ships, sailors who ventured into Antarc­tic waters would sometimes see a strange and awe-inspiring sight. Passing by would be a great iceberg towering high out of the sea, moving against the wind. Since the sailors depended upon the wind to drive their ships, they were keenly aware of its direction, and to see this great, shining skyscraper of ice moving mysteriously into the teeth of the wind was, to them, uncomfortably curious.

It was not until much later that students of the sea learned of the great underwater currents which, like rivers, moved their mysterious ways through the body of the sea. These huge icebergs, so large that it took days to sail past them, had their roots, 90% of their bulk, deep in the sea’s great currents. They moved majestically along their way, regardless of the winds and tides on the surface.

Perhaps we can draw some spiritual lessons from these giant icebergs. Paul tells us “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind, of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.”

The smaller icebergs tend to go with the wind and drift in whatever direc­tion it blows. The giant icebergs with their deep roots are not affected by the storms which send the smaller ones scurrying hither and thither.

Are we swayed by the fickle surface winds of the world, or do we have our foundation deep in the stream of our belief in God so that we can sail against the winds that drive others the wrong way?

As each day we move steadily forward along our course, unaffected by the surface waves and winds that throw others this way and that, it may look like we are not making much progress. But like the giant iceberg, come back again and we will not be at the same latitude and longitude.

The small icebergs, like many around us, react to the wind and the waves on the surface similar to those Paul described as being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. If we put our complete trust in God and sink our roots deep in faith in His promises, then we can become impervious to superficial events besetting us.

Paul asked a question: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” He goes on to list a number of things that do separate some from Christ. “Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”

These are some of the things that can cause those to go astray like the little icebergs. But — not us. For we have sunk our roots deeply into the Word, and so Paul continues, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to sepa­rate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”