If we pay closer attention to nature and to everyday
occurrences we can learn some vital lessons about life and how to avoid its
pitfalls. The incident recorded in our text is one of those common occurrences
in the life of a sailor but it is very instructive to us if we look at it a bit
closer.
The apostle Paul was on his way to appeal his sentence
before Caesar in Rome. Along with some other prisoners, they set sail for the
island of Crete. After arriving at Crete a storm began to brew and Paul advised
the sailors not to leave Crete yet. They persisted however in moving further
only to get hammed by a storm called Euroclydon (Northeaster). The crew began
to throw supplies, chains, and tackles overboard to lighten the ship and after
many days, unable to rescue the boat, they cut anchor, drop sails and let the
boat drift. The narrator says in verse 15, “We let her drive.” They had gone
into ‘drift’ mode. Control had passed from them to Euroclydon.
Just as it is with this boat, many people have given up
themselves over to a life of drift. They are either unwilling to fight for
their destiny. Many are deterred by the adversities of life or with the pounding
from daily cares, or the incessant battering from diseases, or the pressure
from peers to conform, or the weariness of the Christian pilgrimage, and so
they just remove their anchorage and let the winds of nature take over and take
them where it will. And so many are drifting, aimlessly, hoping and praying
that some by some good hand of fortune they will find safe harbor. But that is
not how the life of drift ends. If we read on we will discover that this boat
ended in a shipwreck. The life of drift cannot avoid waste and shipwreck. The
chances of a life of drift realizing its purpose is well nigh impossible.
Are you in control of your destiny or are others forcing you
down their path? Do you feel like you are being carried about by other people’s
opinion, the tide of the world system, or by pressure from peers? If so, you
are drifting. Of course the drifting life is easy. You simply shut down and
allow everyone to make decisions for you. You need no moral resistance and no
eager purpose. But be assured of this: Every drifter ends in a wreck. Soon you
will hit rocks, or a sandbank or another ship.
The Bible says that “everyone will give an account of
himself to God.” Blaming others will not bail you out when you stand before the
Judgment. You need to take control of your life, make the decisions that are
right for you, please yourself above every other person, and do the right thing
regardless whether or not it is the popular thing.
If you do not know Christ as Savior you need to
stop drifting and get anchored in Jesus. It is a personal decision not one for
friends or the world to make for you. Jesus is able to stop the drift. The
disciples were drifting on the Sea of Galilee when he appeared on the water.
The moment they invited him into the boat the storm subsided. Drifting stops
when Jesus is brought aboard.
