Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and for any of you who love to sail, this hymn is for you.
Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Over life's tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves around me roll,
Hiding rock and treacherous shoal.
Chart and compass follow me:
Jesus, Savior, pilot me.
Well, it’s a long time since I’ve been sailing – I mean really sailing. Growing up near the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, I would often go sailing with my friend Paula who used to dock her boat on the Severn River right near the Bay Bridge. Maybe on a Saturday afternoon in summer, we’d pack a lunch, grab the suntan lotion, put on our visors and sunglasses and set off from the dock. Paula was the expert; she knew much more about sailing than I ever did. Hers was a small sailboat, but I knew enough to pitch in and help her with the jib sheet and the mainsail. We’d put up the mainsail, Paula would sit at the tiller in the stern and if the wind was right, we’d just glide easily down the Severn River out onto the beautiful Chesapeake Bay. Now because we were just kids and our sailboat was small, we wouldn’t venture far out into the bay; mainly, just skirting along the shore near the Naval Academy. Often we’d see the big white sailing vessels of the midshipmen from the Naval Academy – sometimes we’d see the big white sailing vessels of the midshipmen from the Academy. Nothing was more lovely than to see all those beautiful white sails leaning into the wind.
I remember one summer day, the wind took us pretty far south of the Severn River and getting back north was no easy feat. It meant Paula had to tack into the wind, in other words, she had to face the breeze head-on; I’d help her change the angle of the foresail this way and that, tacking left and right while she kept a firm grip on the tiller, making our way up the bay, all the while sailing into the wind. I always thought it was so odd that if the wind was stiff (and if we got the angle just right), we were able to glide much more quickly along. I mean, you’d think that if the wind were strong against you, it would push you the other way. But an experienced sailor like Paula knows how to use a strong wind, and she was pretty good at it. It was hard work, tacking into the breeze, but if we wanted to get back home before sunset, tacking was the only way to do it.
And this is a great picture for any Christian who is up against the strong winds of adversity. James 1:2-3 are like an instruction on how to tack into that wind, because God's Word tells us to have confidence, courage and even joy when it says, “My brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” Don’t you love that part about facing trials like a stiff hard breeze? It’s not always easy to face head-on a tough time; you’re naturally inclined to turn away, to turn your back. But that’s not what James chapter 1 tells us to do. We are to face our adversities. And like tacking, it’ll take some skill to head into a trial but, hey, it’s a testing of your faith; a testing of your skill and confidence in Christ as you pilot. Besides, friend, if you want to home before sunset, it’s the only way to do it – so join me today in facing every trial, every stiff wind of adversity with courage and joy.
“Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me” Words by Edward Hopper, Music by John E. Gould, Public Domain
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