Lost at Sea

In our Journey groups, we study the Holy Spirit and draw an analogy to a ship, its sail and the wind that fills it. The men are asked to write a creative letter to God. Read this most honest, transparent poem: Lost at Sea A ship prepared to set for sail upon the open sea. The vessel, sound and seaworthy, felt bright and clean and free. Its Captain’s name was Jesus; its Navigator the Holy Ghost. Everything seemed flawless as the ship sailed from the coast. It was swiftly cruising windward as the Holy Spirit filled the air. The boat was jubilant and joyous, it didn’t have a care. The voyage was quite pleasant powered by the Spirit’s breeze, It easily maneuvered among the islands and the keys. The masterful skill of its crew easily kept the ship afloat, But something wrong was happening to the attitude of the boat. The ship soon felt self?reliant showing no concern or fear And decided to pull into harbor, just to grab a little cheer. The port was unclean and shady; the ship knew it should not dock. But regardless of its intuition, it dropped anchor. It didn’t balk. Its conscience said it should not be at this specific port of call, But as it gathered up some booty, it felt it was making quite a haul. The ship left port with memories of whiskey, wine and women. It simply wrote this off as party time; but the effects proved worse than venom. Each new seaport presented a buffet of worldly sensations. Every stop offered an assortment of immoral and corrupt temptations. The ship disregarded its deck crew and took control of its own helm. Had a mind all of its own now, thought it was the master of its realm. As its journey rambled on, its storerooms began to fill. But its goods began to spoil because of malice and ill will. Its structure now covered with barnacles, every metal piece with rust. The cargo in its hold was packed with Greed and Filth and Lust. Its hull was slowly leaking; its sail now tattered and torn. It was dangerously overloaded from its stem back to its stern. Day by day the ship continued its wayward course of no refrain, It pretended all was fine; but it was just circling round the drain. The ship knew mistakes were being made and its route should be corrected, But Pride was now a driving force; and to this deadly sin it was connected. We all know that it is true no one can serve two Masters. And on this course the ship was headed for nothing but disasters. With its wind now from a different source, the ship tossed to and fro. The vessel now was lost at sea, pushed any way the wind would blow. The ship had drifted miles from shore when a storm began to brew. It had picked the worst of times for mutiny with its Master and His crew. We’ve read the works of sinners earn a very dreadful wage And the ship’s new demons had its rudder turned into the sea storm’s rage. It was headed for the tempest, towards swells higher than the ship’s mask. The tide and wind and weather proved more than the ship could grasp. The ship began to panic; feared this would be the end. It knew it would take a miracle to survive this wild satanic wind. “If I can just make it til morning,” the ship began to pray, “I will chart a different course at the start of this new day.” “Please forgive me Captain. Please take control of my wheel. Please direct my rudder. Please direct my keel.” “I totally ignored you and took the devil’s bait. I pray to you my Captain, please help me change my fate.” “Forgive me of my many sins, be my Savior and my Lord. Keep me away from Satan’s grasp and guard me with your sword.” “I’ve commandeered myself and my heading has been all wrong And Cap I cannot make it, I cannot make it on my own.” Even though the Captain and Navigator had been thoroughly ignored, They had never left the ship. They had always been onboard. The ship felt the presence of the Spirit in its ragged sail, Its canvas was miraculously restored by His strong and healthy gale. It felt the Skipper take the helm and steer it once again. The vessel whispered a small prayer, twas “Thank you God, Amen.” The squall was quickly calmed and the sky was now serene, The ship now back to normal; the filth was gone, it now was clean. As it glided cross the ocean, it shed a wake of stale debris. You see that ship we’ve talked about, that once lost ship was me. Rob Rector Journey Group February 27, 2013