Danger of Becoming Shipwrecked

Most cars sold today come with a GPS system. The purpose of a GPS system is to guide you to your destination. An intersting story was told around Christmas time about a couple traveling to a familiar destination and decided to, for fun, plug the address into their GPS system. By listening to the GPS they wound up on a dead-end road, close to driving off a cliff. Now their instincts told them that this doesn't look right but yet and still they continued to follow the GPS.

Read Acts 27:1-26. This trip for Paul and the other prisoners was not an easy one. They encountered very rough sailing with severe winds and it was only going to get worse. Paul goes to the ship's officers and warns them of the impending danger but they decided to rely on the captain rather than heed the warning. This story is a lot like our lives. How many times do we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit telling us there's danger ahead. Don't go that direction because the outcome will not be favorable. Stay where you are and wait for the dust to settle. Keep quiet, now is not the time to respond. And just like the passengers on this ship and the couple headed to their inlaws house, they decided to rely on the wrong guidance. And boy, did things go wrong from there. Things just became progressively worse.

Think about the last time you didn't heed the warning sign placed in front of you. What was the result? How long did you remain shipwrecked in a disaster of your own making? How do you stop yourself from sailing into a storm and becoming shipwrecked in the future? Take a lesson from the crew. When the winds from the storm continued to beat up the ship, the crew threw over their cargo, the ship's equipment and everything else that wasn't attached to a solid foundation. You must rid yourself of the very things you have relied on in the past. Get rid of it. Don't trust it. You can't go back at this point but you can keep moving forward by relying on the Lord for his guidance in every situation.

Dear Lord,

I know I didn't listen to your warning but thank you for sparing my life. Thank you for the indwelling of your Holy Spirit that guides me along life's journey. I am tired of relying on my own devices. I surrender to you. In Jesus' Name Amen.