At Sea
Ever been at sea?
In January this year, I looked out onto calm blue waters under the blazing sun, sipping complimentary champagne, as our boat crossed from Hamilton Island to the Island resort of Hayman in Northern Australia. I thought, wow, can this get any better? I was indeed, at sea, but was I really, “at sea”?
The term “at sea” originated from the early days of sailing before the use of modern navigation techniques. When a ship was out of sight of land, it was deemed to be, ‘at sea’ and therefore in danger of becoming lost. Since then, “at sea” has become a metaphor for utter discombobulation! The phrase likens our situation to that of someone who is in the middle of a vast ocean, being tossed up and down, unable to see land or know where they are, cut off, lost and vulnerable to the elements.
There are times when we all can feel, “at sea”, when circumstances or challenges carry us far from stability, make us feel like we are going up and down more than forward, where we feel out of position, off piste, lost, and confused; where we can lose our bearings, or worse, lose sight of our saviour.
When Abigail was two, she suffered a febrile seizure in front of me. One minute she was sitting giggling, the next she began convulsing before passing out, becoming completely still, lips turning blue. I screamed to Simon, he called 999. We began to gently try and bring her around but she was unresponsive. For the four minutes it took the Ambulance to reach us I was gasping for breath, in a raging storm of fear that she was not going to pull through, void of any logic, rationale, or plan. My normal coping systems were useless. I was in my front room, but I was totally at sea.
The sea was well known as a terrifying place in Bible times. The popular belief both in ancient Israel and first century Palestine cultures was that the sea was, the “embodiment of chaos”. The sea was an unpredictable primordial place, where the powerful gods were created and still lived. The great mythological sea monsters were thought to live just beneath the depths, and would take any human’s live whenever they pleased! The sea was dangerous and could swallow you whole!
This is why the Bible uses the sea to show us God is sovereign. The writers of the old testament show God’s powerful rule over the elements of chaos. In Jeremiah 5:22, God puts barriers around the sea. In Isaiah 44:27, Nahum 1:4, and Habakkuk 3:8 God rebukes the waters and drys them up. Psalm 29 shows us a God who sits enthroned above the sea and Isaiah 51:9-10 literally uses a metaphor which describes the Lord fighting those mythological sea monsters that were a reality to many. In the New Testament, Matthew in his accounts of Jesus rebuking the waves to bring complete calm in Matthew 8, and walking above the stormy waters in Matthew 14. He was making the point that Jesus was YHWH – the same sovereign God of the Old Testament.
Great news and we could amen it right there! God is Sovereign! But how can it look when leaders are at sea? Here are two very different examples in the Bible where Gods leaders have been “at sea” that may give us some clues and encourage us.
Jonah – “But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.” Jonah 1:3-4 NIV
Despite a clear rhema, Jonah was unwilling to announce Gods mercy to people who deserved punishment. He felt so offended by God’s instruction, he ran in the opposite direction. He was at sea because of his own disobedience. He felt angry and frustrated at God for making a heavenly bad choice.
In response, God orchestrated the elements into an holistic violent assault on Jonah’s trajectory. Nothing could escape to the point that Jonah had to face his mistakes. “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”Jonah 1:12 NIV
He could go no further in his chosen course and had to throw his whole self into the most notorious, dangerous place. The sea. Just when Jonah was losing his last breath, he had his biggest collision with God’s mercy… the whale. It was there his Heavenly Father tended to him, reasoned with him and gently helped him to a place of humble obedience that saved the lives of thousands of lost people.
I find myself moved as I write this, for all the times I’ve shaken my fist at God, or backed off, backed down, down played, or written off what God has asked of me, and had to weather the storms of my own disobedience.
Truth is, we can all be like Jonah sometimes. If you are a leader at sea because you are on the run from God, be honest, face up to your reasons and confess them. Get yourself off that ship and cast your whole self into the vast arms of your merciful Heavenly Father. He will orchestrate his mercy to redirect you back to obedience. he loves you, He will set you back on course.
Noah – “So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created – and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground – for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:7-8 NIV
Following years of uncelebrated heroic obedience, and global disaster; reeling with trauma and loss, Noah and his family found themselves at sea. Despite doing everything the Lord commanded, they were shut into a place where everything they knew to be stable and safe had been taken away. They were adrift, void of land marks, clueless, no clear sense of direction, whilst in recovery from utter devastation. Noah, the patriarch who had the exhausting job of keeping everyone together whilst personally coming to terms with his own loss and the complete unknown. This was not a comfortable place.
And… this was not a quick process! Unlike Jonah, Noah was at sea for months, not days. He was shut up in Gods story that would take over a year to land, and centuries to unfold. In this expanse of time, Noah’s character and resilience is outstanding. Whether parable or historical event, the lessons we can learn as leaders from Noah are numerous. Take a look at the timeline of events which tells us so much.
- For 40 days – Rain fell and the earth floods
- For another 110 days – the flood get’s higher and higher
- On day 150 – God remembers Noah and shuts off the great springs. The rain stops
- For another 74 days the waters slowly recede
- On day 224 – the tops of the mountains can just be seen
- On day 264 – Noah sends out the raven who returns with nothing
- On day 271 – Noah sends out the dove and it comes back with nothing
- On day 278 – Noah sends out the dove again, it returns with an Olive leaf
- On day 285 – Noah sends out the dove again, it doesn’t return
- On day 314 – Noah removed the cover of the Arc and saw solid ground for the first time
- On day 371 – Noah, his family and all the animals come out onto dry ground
- And this was on top of an estimated 75 hard years it took to build the arc
Can you see the amount of waiting between the lines? Again I’m moved and feel the sting of how fast I often want answers, and how easily I can give up when they don’t come quickly enough; how I expect obedience to always result in comfort, how I can lose sight of the bigger picture when things in front of my face don’t add up.
Leader, if you are in the arc right now, land isn’t your saviour, Jesus is. Keep caring for others, keep looking forward and the horizon of promise, keep sending out prayers of hope and wait for Gods timing. God’s got you. You are sailing towards a new beginning.
Finally, in praying about this blog, and the theme God gave me. I hear the voice of God say this over us as leaders,
“Leader, take heart! I’m with you when you are at sea, I have not left you. When you go through the waters, they will not sweep over you. Remember I am Sovereign! The waves and wind still know my name”
Bless you guys. Much love
Ally
