King Solomon was more than marveled by “…the way of a ship in the midst of the sea” (Proverbs 30:18-19) [KJV]. One of the things that particularly amazed King Solomon was the way of a ship in the midst of the sea. Means of traveling to your destination can be by air, land or water. The psalmist is talking about a ship in the high seas sailing in a certain direction to a certain destination. Moving on dry land is very different from moving on water. Moving on dry land requires a lot of defeatist negotiations as you have to make twists and turns and meanderings to avoid mountains. This is in sharp contrast to the ship that moves in the high seas, gallantly riding over the big waves and over the small waves. Some of the waves are so huge that it is not easy to imagine how ships ride over the “…mighty waves of the sea” (Psalm 93:4) where the “waves mount up to heaven and then down again to the depths” (Psalm 107:26).
That ship that is floating in the midst of the sea is you. We are surrounded by a vast sea of humanity. The sea is the world that is trying to swallow us. As one ponders over a ship in the midst of the sea, one wonders what keeps it afloat when all else is sinking. That power that keeps the ship afloat in the midst of towering storms, with the ship overcoming every storm, is the power of God. All around are sinking or sunken vessels. When we relate ourselves to that ship, we are amazed at the goodness of the Lord who keeps us afloat when all else is sinking.
Everything around us seems to be sinking: sinking economies, decaying morals, calamities, sicknesses, conflicts, broken marriages, accidents and poverty. One wonders why God has kept us afloat and above all these quick sands which are yawning to swallow us. The world is a vast quick sand. You have heard of ships sinking but yours is not sinking. You have heard of people sailing in ships only to get out of one storm and finding themselves in another storm. You have read in the book of Acts 27 and 28 how Paul and other inmates survived a shipwreck only to get into another storm in form of being bitten by a venomous snake and how God saved him from that snakebite in the island of Malta. God will help you overcome storms and even other storms if only you trust and obey Him. And your ship will continue moving on and on to take you to the other side without a hitch.
At the Deck
You can imagine yourself on the deck of that ship that is in the midst of the sea. As you look around into the distant horizon, you are not in a position to know where you are going. It is like the ship you are in is at the centre of a giant circle of water surrounded by a circumference of the horizon which is then merged to the blank blue sky. If you do not have a vision of where you are going, you might panic and feel lost in the high seas. But the Bible says that “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18) [KJV]. When sailing in that ship, remember to carry the traveler’s kit. It contains the map of where you are going and the compass. Traveling without a compass and the traveler’s map is like being without a map or compass in the midst of a massive sandy desert where no person, town or mountain is visible except sand, sand, more sand and an elusive distant horizon. Inside the ship that is in the midst of the sea, the only sounds you hear are the roaring waves which are trying to drown the drumming sound of the vessel’s engine. That droning sound reminds you that the ship is still moving. As you look around, there are no landmarks to indicate where you are going. You marvel at this vast wonder of God’s creation and try to figure out how He created the huge heap of water and the ocean deeps. “He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: he lays up the depth in storehouses” (Psalms 33:7) [KJV]. And if God has carried you this far, it is high time you thanked Him and worshiped Him while inside the ship because He is your present help in times of trouble and your Ebenezer, this far has He helped you. “Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12) [KJV].

The Pilot Knows Where the Ship is Going – He Has Been There Before
After God has carried you this far, try to find out more about the country you are going to. The compass may tell you the direction you are going; north, east, west or south. But it may not tell you about the place you are going. The map you are studying to find out where you are going may not tell you everything you need to know about that place. You need to know more about the country you are going to from a person who has been there. And that person is the pilot who is in the cabin which is just a walking distance from where you are. The pilot knows the way. He knows about the entry requirements into that country. Ask him more about the country you are going to because he has been there: the culture of the place you are going to, the king of that country, how it is governed, etc.
Ask him more about their language, entry requirements, and how you can get citizenship into that country. Do not ignore him anymore. You have ignored him enough. Break the silence. Get closer to him and establish some relationship with him because he has piloted you this far through the storms of your journey. That pilot is none other than Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God. Ask Him to show you the way because He has been there before and He told Thomas that He is the “way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6) [KJV].

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