Imagine being invited to participate in an organized sailing competition. You’ve been trained, certified, and possess excellent seamanship skills. You’re confident that you can win the competition because your vessel has been proven to be the strongest and fastest of them all. In the midst of you contemplating the matter, your mentor interrupts your thoughts with what seems to be an off-topic statement and says, “Your boat may be the strongest. It may even be the fastest; but where will it sail?”
I liken this scenario to you and I and our life’s journey. Where will our decisions, values, and character ultimately take us? Where will it sail? Every decision, value, and endeavor you embrace will eventually land you somewhere. There is a spiritual law that has withstood the test of time; it remains unaltered by human opinion…the law of sowing and reaping---what you plant will eventually spring up.
As of late, I find myself giving more pause to what my heart values and where I invest my energy---and not the energy that is so flippantly used in today’s modern society. The energy that I speak of, is the essence of who I am---it carries destiny weight. Do I give my essence to those things that are good, honest, and bear lasting fruit? Because what I invest in will return to me, and most importantly, will lead me somewhere.
I’m reminded of Noah in the Bible. He was described as a good man. He was compelled by his integrity to trust and follow God’s instruction to build an Ark. Although it had never rained, God warned that rain was coming and so was a deadly flood. Noah was perhaps ridiculed and laughed at by those observing him build the ark, yet he kept working. His faith, resilience, and who he was at his core, would lead him somewhere. That “somewhere” was to safety and ultimately, a new beginning. As you all know, this was not the fate of his neighbors nor those who maybe snickered at his endeavors. I share this story to remind you that your efforts, decisions, and who you are will lead you to a destination. My question to you is…where will your boat sail?
So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him. Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died. God wiped out every living thing on the earth—people, livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and the birds of the sky. All were destroyed. The only people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat. And the floodwaters covered the earth for 150 days. (Genesis 7:5,22-24)