“May the wind be always at your back, & your sails always full,” is an ambiguous statement, unless you are an avid sailor. But the meaning is not lost on us landlubbers. I was in the U.S. Navy long after wind power stopped being used to propel ships of any major size over the waves. Of course, the meaning in that verse has nothing to do with deep water, trying get somewhere, or the hope that you get to your destination across the waters with comfort. It is simply a statement issuing optimism that all will go well with you. Not bad. Not at all. It is a cutesy way of wishing someone smooth sailing in life. But… There is a better way of expressing that sentiment. Proverbs 3: 5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all you heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” Certainly, I wish for you to have smooth sailing, but I would rather cheer you on to trust in the Lord with all your heart, letting Him show you what vehicle you need to arrive wherever He would like you to go. Oh… and not leaning on your own imaginations is the key!
Life can be a puzzling adventure, or as Forest Gump would say, “Life is like a box of chocolates… You never know what you are going to get.” Between work or school and all the other activities you do not have time for, any definition of what peace really is, can be conjured up to pacify your way-too-full schedule, if in fact you can call it a schedule. No? That does not define your, ah peace mode of operation? Not true about you? Yeah, me too! “Peace I leave with you,” Jesus told his disciples, (recorded in John 14: 27 NKJV), “My peace I give you…” So, what’s the problem? Why is it that sometimes, in this puzzling world, we find ourselves totally unable to experience that peace Jesus is talking about? Well…we are missing only one piece to that peace puzzle. Now I suspect you may be asking… “So, do you have an answer?” Well, as a matter of fact I do, and thanks for asking. First go back and read vs, 25 – 28 of that chapter in John to get the full picture of exactly what Jesus was teaching. Then ask yourself…Do I honestly believe Him? If you do, then all that is necessary for you to experience that peace, He told you that He is leaving with you, is to make a dedicated effort every morning to give Him the time He wants you to give, and He will exchange that time you give Him for the peace you need to do your day. There is more to this story but trust in this process. The one additional advice here, is that when you sit down to do this… put all the world’s things out of your mind so that He is gifted with the whole you. Peace comes when you give up your right to be right.