A Gentle Wind

But then, after the extended period, there’ll be a calm. We stood tough during the wind, we didn’t let the storm grab our sails; we didn’t let the wind drive us where God didn’t want us to go. But, now there is a calm, now there is tranquility and maybe silence. It’s all right now, we think. The storm is over. I can convalesce, I can build up my strength, and I can recover. But, what’s that?

A gentle breeze begins to blow from another direction. A slight wind that seems to want to go kind of in the direction that God wants me to go.

II. A False Sense of Security

We sometimes take that gentle wind because, well, it’s because its gentle, and, seems to be going kind of in the direction that God wants us to go. What does Luke say?

Acts 27:13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.

They thought they had obtained what they wanted! Here’s a gentle wind, here’s something that can help me along, I think, toward the path that, I think, God wants me to go. So, we weigh anchor. We pull up the anchor and get going. Why did we do that? What was the rush? Because we succumb to pressure.

Under pressure of time, under pressure of authorities or supervisors, under pressure of the world around us, we think we obtain what we wanted. We think this is the direction we should go, yet, our vision, our thinking was clouded by the pressure to get going on the journey.

I need to get going on college, so I take this quick path. I need to get married, so I take this quick path. I need to have transportation, so I buy the car. I need a job, so I take the first one that comes along. I need to finish this report, so I skip some vital items. I need to choose a direction for my life, so I take this gentle south wind, because I think it is what I want. I think it is what I want. I don’t really know for sure, but I think it is what I want.

We succumb to the pressure of family, of friends, of co-workers, and even pastors, to get along in life with the first thing that comes along, because it’s a gentle wind. It doesn’t seem like it will do much damage.

III. -I need to get back into deep water

We succumb to the pressure of not only those things that we mentioned but we also succumb to our own pressure. We begin to think thoughts of inadequacy. We begin to think thoughts of impotence, insufficiency, weakness, and powerlessness. We unduly chastise ourselves for voluntarily staying out of the game and begin to think irrational and unreasonable thoughts.

We begin to think that we’ve been in port a long time and we want to get back into deep water. And, you know, here’s this gentle wind. You know, it’s just the thing I need to easily and safely slip back into the spiritual deep water. It’s just the think I need to easily and safely slip back into the mainstream of God’s will. So, we take that gentle wind. We allow that gentle wind to carry us along. It carries us along the shallow shore, letting us get a feel for service again. It carries us along the coast, people notice us, people wave at us, people nod their heads and wink at us, but it’s not what God intended. God did not intend for us to jump at that gentle wind, because He knew what was coming up.