We Sail On!

Brothers and sisters I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. Philippians 3:3

People across the world have celebrated Columbus’s voyage since the colonial period when he historically set sail in August of 1492. Columbus intended to chart a course to China, India, and the renowned gold and spice islands of Asia, but instead he landed in the Bahamas. This landing made him the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings set up new colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland in the 10th century. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed this discovery a federal holiday.

Columbus and his three ships made the non stop voyage on the high seas of the Atlantic and sailed between 2800-3100 nautical miles. When one considers that there were no emergency radios, no radar, no weather forecast, and no communication other than person to person available, it’s hard to imagine the endless days and nights out on the ocean having no idea what might await. I have trouble sailing in the Gulf of Mexico for a couple of hours, so I can only imagine how long the days and nights became for these sailors as they lived through the wind and waves they must have faced.!

There is an interesting account of the journey in a work entitled, Diary of Christopher Columbus’ First Voyage to America written by Bartolome de la Casas. The frst entry was posted on August 3, 1492, the day of his departure from Spain. It reads, “We departed Friday the third of August in the year of 1492 from the Bar of Saltes at the eighth hour. We went south with a strong sea breeze 60 miles, which is 15 leagues, until sunset; afterward by the southwest and south by west which was the route for the Canaries. and on this day we sailed on. As the journal continues, the most intriguing thing is that at the end of almost every day, the final words are, And on this day, we sailed on.

Some days nothing happened except the monotony of bobbing up and down on the seas. Some days the storms came, and the ship took on water. Some days the crew turned on each other and fought. Some days one of the ships had mechanical issues. Some days the sea was calm and peaceful, and there was rest. Through it all, they sailed on. Columbus had a vision, and he and his crew persevered through hardships, danger, difficulty, boredom, and disappointments.

Some days, we, as Christians feel a lot like Columbus and his crew because we seem to face a lot of fighting and struggling along our way. The scripture above reminds us that no matter what we face, we can’t give up, but rather we must sail on!

God is looking for committment, perseverance, and faithfulness as we sail on in this life. We will encounter persecution, but we sail on. We will encounter ciriticism, but we sail on. We will be bored, but we sail on. We will encounter danger on our way, but we sail on. We will face betrayal, but we sail on. We will frequently feel like the devil is winning, but we sail on.

I can’t think of anyone in the Bible apart from Jesus who lived a life of more gratitude than Paul the Apostle. He sailed on when he was imprisoned, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, robbed, abandoned, and the list goes on. However, when he was about to die, he wrote the young preacher Timothy, these words: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, and I have kept the faith.”

Some days when we are beaten down and we write in our spiritual journal, the only thing we can say is, today,we sailed on. We didn’t discover any new land, we didn’t get rich, we were scick, we had a flat tire, the house flooded, we heard that someone talked about us, someone blamed us, someone betlittled us, someone lied to us, but we sailed on.

It is during these times when God is using our circumstances to build character in us. He wants us to be faithful and sail on during the times when He is silent. During those days when we feel like God has shut down heaven and there’s not enough money to buy an answer to a prayer, just sail on one more day!

Mary Ann Baxter experienced some of the bad times that all Christians go through and it caused her to ask, “What have I done to deserve this?” Through the time where she sailed on and waited on God to answer her, she felt the storms that had been raging start to subside, and she felt a peace. She was able to write three stanzas and a chorus for the beloved hymn Peace Be Still.

The winds and the waves shall obey My will, Peace Be Still. Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea, or demons or men or whatever it be, No water can swallow the shp where lies, the Master of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey thy will, Peace Be Still.

In the words of Christopher Columbus, And on this day – we sail on!