We can’t direct the wind

I was scrolling through Facebook in the wee hours as I often do when sleep is eluding my busy mind, and I came upon a post from a friend celebrating his partners new job, which he had finished with a quote that caught my eye.

“We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails”

This resounded deeply within me as I take stock of decisions I am making and situations I find myself in.

You see, I know God has a plan for my life. He is shaping me and using me in ways I couldn’t imagine, and sometimes that means riding through storms as well as those times when life is plain sailing.

So does that mean that I just go with the flow at all times? Well actually, no, I don’t think it does.

Because God has a plan for my life, I do my best to submit myself to his will. As we sang in church, “Here I am lord... I have heard you calling in the nigit... I will go Lord, where you lead me”. Excerpts from a chorus I am sure is well known to many of us.

I can’t control the winds of change God is blowing through my life with, but I can as the quote above states “alter my sails”.

You see, I can set my sails so that they cut through the winds of life and don’t make much difference to where I am or where I am going. I can make my point of sail be what seafaring folk call “In irons” meaning sailing straight into the wind. This is rarely a good decision as you find yourself fighting against the very power you need to harness to thrive and survive. Or my other option is that I can take that leap of faith and set my sails so that they fill full of the Holy Spirit and allow myself to travel the seas that He has laid before me.

I think this is an analogy that each and every one of us could use when we are assessing the decisions we make in everyday life.

Is this decision going against what God wants from our lives, or are we making a decision to set our course based on the guidance of God, and of those He sends to guide us, our clergy, our youth leaders and our Christian friends and family?

I’m off to pray for guidance on how I should set my sails in the seas I find myself in.

How will you set yours?