Ready About!

Turn to Me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other.

(Isaiah 45:22, NASB)

In a sailboat, when the skipper prepares to change direction - or tack - he alerts the crew by calling out, “Ready About!” Then, when the crew is ready, he commits to tacking by calling out, “Hard-A-Lee!” meaning he is pushing the tiller that steers the sailboat to the leeward side turning the sailboat.

The current coronavirus crisis is an opportunity to change directions in our lives. The word crisis actually comes from a Greek word which means, "a decisive moment or turning point." These words from C.S. Lewis in "The Weight of Glory” continue to inspire me.

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. Paul shared this same conviction in Ephesians 1:18-19.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. Is God calling you to tack during this crisis? Perhaps you've gotten off course and He is calling you back to Himself. May Max Lucado’s words inspire you, "I have come to see God’s definition of promotion: a promotion is not a move up the ladder; it is a move toward your call."

Keep on abiding,

Steve