Follow The RabbiSample

You have a choice today to be led by God … or led by your circumstances.

I recently had the unique opportunity to take a boat cruise on the Nile River in Egypt. The history that has occurred in and around this river is incredible … but what I was most excited about was that the cruise was on a sailboat! You see, I think a sailboat is the perfect image of a person who is interacting with God. 

Let me explain. A sailor can’t control the wind—they can only respond to it. They can only adjust the sails to make the most of what they are given. Now you may remember that the Hebrew word for God’s Spirit is “ruach”, which means “wind”. So, a person who has learned to follow the direction God’s Spirit is leading, and can adjust their lives to make the most of every situation He leads them into, is like a sailboat. Make sense?

Now, as we sailed the Nile, several motor boats steered past us. These boats did not need the wind because they had their own internal power, and could set their own course no matter which way the wind was blowing. The motor boat was not dependent on the wind, and the captain could determine their own course and direction based on need or circumstance. This sort of control seems good on paper—but the motor boats needs gas to run, and are more likely to suffer breakdowns.

We all have a choice—to follow God's will or our own—to be a sailboat or a motor boat. There may be less immediate certainty when you're led by the Spirit, but as pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr says, “When we step into the unknown, that is when God is made known.” That’s been true in my life.

So I wonder … which are you: a sail boat or a motor boat? 

For reflection:

"The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit." — John 3:8