You may have heard about the incident with the Viking Sky off the coast of Norway this weekend. The cruise ship lost its engines about 2 kilometers off the coast in rough seas with 1,300 people on board. The captain issued a mayday call and during the next 20 hours, about 500 people were airlifted off of the cruise ship that was being battered and tossed by the waves. Many people who remained on the ship were injured before power was finally restored and the ship was able to reach port. The images of the ship adrift at sea are quite scary, but the videos of the conditions on-board during the emergency are downright terrifying.
Watching this unfold online this weekend has led me to think a lot about how we live our lives in our day to day, and I think that there are a few lessons that we can take away to help keep us on the right course.
- Our lives are intended to carry us forward, not keep us in place.
By design, a ship is intended to carry its cargo to a destination. While there are wonderful amenities to enjoy on board, it’s purpose is to carry you from the place where you were to the place you are going. In a similar way, your life was not simply created to be the vessel that holds you until die. You can look at the physical design of your body and see the intention behind it. We were created to move forward. We have the ability to move side to side. We have the ability to move in reverse. But our lives were designed to function best when we move towards our destination, cutting through the obstacles that we face as we go. Do you know where your life is taking you right now?
- It you are not under power, then you are getting beaten.
It became very clear very quickly that things on board were not going well once the ship lost power. Although the ship was only about 2 kilometers off shore, it was drifting in 20-25 foot seas that were tossing the massive vessel and its contents from side to side. Let me be very clear as well: You cannot build a life that is so massive that you are free to ignore the effects of the world around you. You cannot simply stand still, or sit in your current situation, and not lose ground. The fallen world around you is on the offensive all of the time. If you choose to drift, you will lose ground, and those who are riding with you risk injury as well. We seem to move through seasons where we make more progress in some areas than others. If you look at your whole life, you should be able to see where you are leaving from, even if you can’t see where you are going. If you can’t tell where or what you have left behind as you journey forward, then you may have lost power and be spinning in circles.
- You have to restore power to your engine. Now!
Imagine watching a vessel that was created to transport thousands of people thousands of miles sink about a mile off shore. What a waste! Fortunately that wasn’t the end of the Viking Sky. The engines were repaired and the ship powered to port, where the remaining passengers and crew safely disembarked. It’s obvious, I suppose, but the story had a happy ending because power was restored. The vessel was able to fulfill its purpose because it was functioning as it was designed. Your life will not continue to sustain you unless you actively engage your will and power, embrace the plan that God has for you, and begin to move in that direction. Your life will breakdown and you will succumb to the waves that are crashing around you. The best thing that you can do today is restore power to your life and set a heading for somewhere. Don’t worry so much about the direction; God has a way of course-correcting as you go. He will get you to the proper port. What can you do today to get your life underway?
My wife and I were on a cruise last year in which a passenger had to be airlifted from the ship while at sea. The most impressive thing about the entire ordeal was the amount of power and energy that was required to hold the ship still in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Don’t simply tread water. You are using valuable resources and wasting precious time simply holding your position. Wouldn’t you rather know that you used your one life to propel you to new destinations, rather than expending it while remaining still, or worse yet, allowing life to overwhelm you while you waited?
Running A Little Late 