A Lesson From the Mariner

Sailing solo on the open sea can be exhausting. The numbing effect can  of fatigue can easily push the mariner across a dangerous  threshold, so that errors and wrong decisions are made.  For this reason, he appreciates the value of a sea anchor. It allows a weary sailor to rest and recuperate without drifting dangerously. At the same time, the sea anchor  forces the bow to point into the wind and waves and keeps the boat in its most stable position. 

Just as sailors face numerous dangers at sea, Christians face the constant pressures of this world and feel the need for rest.  In fact, once Jesus recommended to his disciples:  "Come, you yourselves, privately into a lonely place and rest up a bit." (Mark 6:31) Today, some may take a few weeks to travel or have a weekend away to relax with the family.  These moments can be refreshing and reinvigorating. How, though, can we make sure that we are spiritually safe at such times?  What can serve as our spiritual sea anchor to help us resist drifting and maintain stability?

Jehovah has generously made a provision available to us.  It is none other than his Holy Word, the Bible.   By reading it daily, we can stay close to Jehovah and never drift away from him. Its counsel can stabilize us and enable us to withstand the temptations of Satan and his world.  Our maintaining a regular program of Bible reading, even when we are out of our routine, can serve to anchor us spiritually. -Joshua 1:7, 8; Colossians 2:7. 

The psalmist reminds us that "happy is the man" whose  "delight is in the law of Jehovah, and in his law he reads in an undertone day and night." (Psalm 1:1, 2)  Reading God's Word daily will bring us the  "happy" result of being truly refreshed and reinvigorated, prepared to continue our Christian course. 

Next time: A Bright Future Can Be Yours! -Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist?

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000