Ocean sailing

Following Seas

… so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves
and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning,
by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Ephesians 4:14 (ESV)

This scripture verse reminds me of a sailing memory in 2011; I was part of a 4-man crew delivering a 45’ sailboat to Tortola British Virgin Islands from Hampton VA.  It was an eleven-day journey where we experienced many different sea states.  

Approximately halfway to our destination, we experienced what sailors call “following seas”.  That’s when the ocean swells run behind the ship, sometimes just one swell every now and then and other times, multiple swells and never at the same angle. On this occasion it was multiple swells making for a very uncomfortable 36 hours.  During this part of the trip, the seas were 6’-8’ swells and they would roll up behind the stern of the boat picking it up and just like the words in the verse above “tossed to and fro”.  

Sometimes the sea swells would move the stern of the boat so far to the right or the left, the bow of the boat would be pointing backwards towards our original port. 

 Keep in mind, this was a sailboat and on a good day it would be doing about 6-7 knots. The ocean swells were coming much faster overtaking the boat and lifting the stern and turning the boat sideways; and then the auto pilot would struggle to turn the boat back on to its heading.  If the auto pilot did not turn the boat fast enough, the helmsman would have to quickly disengage the autopilot and turn the boat to keep the boat from catching the next set of swells sideways on the beam, which is not a good position to be in.  

So, you can see where this verse in Ephesians reminds me of how much our life can be similar to those 36 hours on that boat.  Like those waves, life “happens” and if you are not careful, you are being tossed to and fro, and you can find yourself turned sideways if not upside down.  

Think about it, Paul was talking to the Ephesians who were believers.  He was not talking to the non-believers.  He was encouraging the believers to pull up their boot straps and walk their lives in agreement with God’s will and not fall prey to the tricks and cunningness that exists in this fallen world. 

The visual that comes to my mind is a bushel of crabs.  The people who are turned away from God, the non-believers are the crabs in the bottom of the bushel.  I see the escaping crabs near the rim of the bushel as the believers who reject this fallen world and want to escape it.

But what do the crabs in the bottom of the bushel do? They try to keep the other crabs from escaping by pulling them back down into the bushel.

Sometimes, those crabs in the bottom of the bushel are not other people.  It can be the devil using our desires, emotions and feelings to pull us back into trappings of this physical world. He is a very cunning being and he has many ways to pull us down into the abyss without us realizing it is happening.  

There’s nothing wrong for a man wanting to provide for his family, but reaching for that brass ring at the cost of losing his family is not worth it. When Joby Martin was a youth pastor back in the day, he related that too often there were fathers who were excellent providers for their families and their children enjoyed amazing vacations, personal cars, and other life pleasures, but they grew up never really knowing their dads.

There is nothing wrong with having a passion in your life.  But not to the point you become slave to your passion.  Charles Krauthammer was a very successful columnist who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.  His passion was chess.  In fact, he became so good at the game he was on the verge of becoming a master chess player.  He realized that his passion for chess was taking over his life.  If he continued, it would affect his career as a journalist and more importantly his relationship with his family.  God gave him the discernment to realize chess was his crab in the bottom of the bushel.

At one point or another we all experience those following seas in our lives. What are the waves in your life tossing you to and fro? 

Do you ever feel like that crab trying to escape the trappings of this world? Who are the other crabs trying to pull you back down? 

 If you choose to turn towards God, He will fill you with His light, He will give you the discernment to see them more clearly.  In fact, once you focus on God’s world in lieu of this world, He will give you the knowledge on how to deal with those winds and waves that toss you to and fro including those crabs trying to pull you to the bottom of this world’s bushel.

If you think it would help benefit others, please feel free to share your life experiences where you had to overcome following seas or separate yourself from the crabs trying to pull you downward.

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9 responses to “Following Seas”

  1. Jason Sails Bluewater

    Being a life long sailor, I loved some of your analogies. I feel closest to God when I am on the water, the engine off and just the wind propelling me across the water. Night sailing provides the most peaceful time and is my favorite because other than the shrimp boats, the majority of power boaters are back at their docks. Like you stories, looking forward to the next one.

    Reply
  2. Tim (not the tool man)

    I was a big fan of Charles Krauthammer and enjoyed his writings and point of view. I know your article is not focused on him but I am glad you included a link to his website and I encourage your readers to check out his life story. What he accomplished living in a wheel chair most of his life is pretty amazing.

    Reply
  3. Mary Beth

    Growing up near the Chesapeake Bay in VA we did a lot of crabbing back in the day. It was amazing how the crabs at the bottom of our bucket would reach up and pull the other crabs down. Your analogy really resonates with me as I have a younger brother who was that crab in the bottom the bushel. Although he was a peaceful person, he got into drugs and was constantly in trouble with the law. It wasn’t that he dragged the rest of us down into drugs with him, but his petty thefts and constant arrests were a constant distraction and stain on my parents, my siblings and me. Fortunately, my parents lived long enough to see him finally get off the drugs and become a productive person.

    Reply
  4. Tim (not the tool man)

    My father was a very successful business man. I grew up wanting to be just like him. I thought the measure of a man was how successful he was. My father was a good provider and my siblings and I went without nothing. We each had brand new cars when we turned 16, we went to the best schools. and amazing vacations. We were blessed to have father who really cared for his family. But looking back, I wished my father had spent more time with us. Played catch, took us camping, allowed us to know him. A lot of his free time was spent golfing with his friends.

    I wasn’t as successful as my dad because I realized during my upward successes in life that each time I achieved one brass ring, I wanted the next one. Yes, I played catch with my boys and I took them camping but not nearly as much as I should have. I wish I spent more time talking about God with them.

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  5. Jason Monday

    My siblings and I were very blessed to have parents who loved the water. As our family grew, my father would trade up to a bit larger boat. It’s not like we had a yacht or anything but the last boat we had comfortable fit our family of 6. Sometimes we would complain bitterly that we were not allowed to play organized sports like our other friends. Our friend’s parents spent their weekends hauling our friends to their different sporting events while our parents spent their weekends enjoying the water with their kids. We truly enjoyed each other, we had a lot of family talks, and although we did not go to church a lot, we learned a great deal about God. Just like Jesus had a captured audience with the apostles on their fishing boat, my parents had captured their children’s attention and our hearts on the weekend boat trips. Sports might teach team building, but that can never replace family building and belief in God. Twenty years later, very few of my friends have the close knit relationships with their siblings and their children as I do because my parents showed me the way.

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  6. Joycelyn M.

    We appear to be living in a very dark world. It is unsettling to see how the news media twists their stories, how people misstate or actually lie on social platforms, and now with AI they can produce a video of a person making a speech that is totally false. The Ephesians verse really resonates with all the deceitful human cunning we are experiencing. We need prayers for this world now more than ever.

    Reply
  7. Norman Stands in His Light

    We can learn a lot from the apostle Paul about perseverance. He certainly endured quite a bit: stoning, shipwrecks, poisonous snake bites, imprisonment and yet he never wavered in his faith.

    Reply
  8. Mike L

    I still struggle trying to balance my time between work and family. For those who work 9-5 it is easier because your work schedule doesn’t deviate. My career can be pretty demanding at times and if it were not for my amazing wife, it would be much more difficult for me to achieve that balance. My wife runs the household and the family allowing me to focus on providing for the family. But she is also that voice of reason that keeps me from allowing my career to overwhelm me. She keeps me grounded and because of her, my children know their dad.

    Reply
  9. Charlene Marie

    The hardest thing for parents is the balancing act of trying to provide for your children and yet find the time to spend with them. My husband was a great dad because although he worked LONG hours during the days, evenings and weekends to make sure our children were provided for, he rarely missed any of their school or sporting events. God took him too early and we miss him.

    Reply

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