Sailing With the Spirit

Are you riding in a rowboat or a sailboat? I wouldn’t exactly consider myself an experienced sailor, but I’ve been on both kinds before in my life. I’ve paddled canoes and kayaks but also taken rides on sailboats (and even a pirate ship). And I have to say — as much fun as it is to paddle around a lake or lagoon, there’s something relaxing about letting the wind do all the work. After all, the obvious difference between sailboats and rowboats is where the power is coming from.

One relies on manual labor and muscle power, while the other taps into an external power source that’s far superior to your own.

In Max Lucado’s book Help is Here, he talks about the fact that when we try to live the Christian life on our own, with our own wisdom and power, that’s like trying to navigate rough waters in a rowboat. It all depends on us, and the challenges and trials we face can quickly overwhelm us. But when we learn to tap into the power of God, that’s like opening up the sails and letting the wind power you forward.

That metaphor really stuck with me — and it’s something I’ve mentioned in past sermons and classes. It also makes even more sense when you remember that the Hebrew and Greek words for Spirit are the same words for breath and wind. The power of the Holy Spirit is the wind in our sails that helps us persevere through the storms of life instead of burning ourselves out in our rowboats.

The only question is, are we tapping into the power that God has made available to us through the Holy Spirit? Or are we keeping our sails tied up and trying to power through by rowing even harder?

Today, let me encourage you to take Solomon’s advice from Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

– Bryan