“You can’t steer a ship if it has not set sail”

“Tension builds strength”                               

As of late, both of these statements have been on my mind often coming in the form of “Do I pursue this new venture or do I continue with what is working now?”  Given there can be a combination of both, continuing with what works and pursuing a new venture. The question remains, are you invested deeply enough in your new venture to set sail with it? This is the tension that builds mental and spiritual strength. Are you setting sail in what you know is your calling or sitting happily in your comfortable current condition?

Some of Jesus’ disciples were good fishermen which meant they understood the ways of the sea, boat handling, and weather forecasting. They were not mumbling, bumbling idiots. These facts interest me since it is noted in scripture that they set sail and their boats and twice were nearly scuttled by the weather and waves. (Matt 14:22-33, Mark 4:45-41) In both instances they were sailing to their next calling, their next ministry destination, the next group of people they were assigned. They were going, setting sail, not sitting tied up at the docks. There was also work involved as well as fear that arose when the storms came and they were not near shore. Think about it, in those days there was no coast guard, no radios, probably no great flotation devices aboard. They were risking everything for the advancement of their calling, putting their money where their mouth was.

It was during these times they experienced the power of the miraculous with Jesus. Would they have seen Jesus walk on water had they not set sail and encountered a life threatening storm? (Matt 14) Would Peter have walked to Jesus on the water? Note that he did walk on water IN the storm when he kept his eyes on Jesus but when he looked at the surrounding circumstances he began to sink. Or what happened when Jesus was sleeping through the storm in Mark 4? Had they not set sail they would have never observed Jesus’ calm in the storm, his lack of worry to the point of sleeping and His rebuking of the storm when they woke Him up which brought calm waters.

In both scenarios the disciples set sail to their new callings. Both times they encountered trials, storms at sea far from rescue. And each time they encountered the storms they encountered the miraculous power of the Father through Jesus. Had they not pursued their calling and sailed away from comfort, they never would have seen the miraculous!

This begs the question, what have I avoided due to the cost and risk? What miraculous revelation have I missed not pursuing my next calling?