DO NOT LEAVE THE SHIP UNTIL THE SHIP LEAVES YOU

What would you do onboard a ship that is sinking fast and yet told that the sinking ship is the safest place for you? Ironical! How could a fast-sinking vessel be safe? Do not leave the ship until the ship leaves you; do whatever you can to save the ship, and at the point when there is nothing you can do to keep the ship, you abandon the vessel at the instruction of the captain—the ship has decided to leave you and not the other way. That’s one of the critical things I learned while training to become a seaman several years ago when I wanted to change my career to seafaring.

For many people, especially with little or no training in this profession, the immediate reaction would be to abandon the ship and swim to safety. Leaving the ship, not at the captain’s instruction, people often realise they are far away from shores of safety and left with little or no strength to complete what they’ve embarked on. A distressed vessel could still be the safest place; sometimes distress is but for a moment and would only leave sailors more skilful and toughened to face more significant challenges.

Similarly, when faced with a difficult situation, we often feel abandoning the problem or changing course is the answer. Most times, our spiritual eyes are myopic, and we often fail to see the other side of the situation. Some challenging problems are embedded with the very treasures we are looking for, and abandoning such cases would mean leaving the treasured things. The captain of our ship (the Most High God) wants us to patiently wait for instruction from Him before changing course in whatever state of distress we find ourselves. The enemy (the dragon, the serpent) often stirs up storms from time to time to make us leave where God has positioned us to receive the promised treasures in search of safety where God’s presence is absent. The enemy creates a problem and tricks us into leaving the ship of the Most High God to where one would not keep the laws, statutes, commandments, and faith in Jesus Christ.

Naomi and her family were faced with a difficult situation, and they thought by moving to the land of the Moab, they could find safety and provision. A short storm (famine) caused her and her family to take steps without seeking guidance from the Most High God, and in the end, they found themselves in a bitter situation than they were.  She and her family had no idea that the Lord would visit his people in giving them bread; a simple prayer asking the Most High God for what step to take would have saved her and her family from the painful situation they went through.

With Jesus (Yahawashi) as the captain of our ship, what should we do when faced with complex challenges? We should always seek direction from Him; He will instruct us when to leave and when to stay. Some storms, which are but for a moment, are closely interwoven with treasures and good things one could think of; and abandoning such situations, not at the instruction of our captain, would only make us miss what we’ve longed for.