God did not create man out of loneliness or a need for companionship. Instead, God created man for his own glory, and our purpose in life as sailors or otherwise is to give Glory to God. 1 Cor. 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” My thesis in this blog post is that sailors, like everyone else, should give glory to God in all they do, including when they are on their sailboats, and by so doing, sailing can be an act of faith.
Sailors should not forget about God when they sail. It is amazing but true that sailors are important to God. I am a sinner, and I don't deserve God’s love, but I believe that God loves other sailors and me because scripture supports it. Matthew 10:30-31. “But the very hairs of your head are numbered.” and Ephesians 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” God loves us, and he wants us to show our love for him.
When you consider how difficult it is to believe that God loves sailors, you can understand that communicating with God is very important. It is no wonder that God created the mast of a sailboat to look like a giant crucifix, reminding us that God is on our sailboat and wants us to worship and pray to him there. Understand that Jesus selected most of his disciples from watermen who sailed and fished. Jesus was no stranger to boats; he left a boat to walk on the water (Matthew 14:22-33) and later calmed the water during a storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). God loves and understands the needs of sailors and wants us to worship him on our sailboats and elsewhere.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 says, “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks.” Christian sailors throughout history are thought to have always been prayerful on their sailboats. Sailors are more exposed to danger than most people, and in general, people exposed to danger pray more often than those who are sitting at home comfortably. So, being prayerful comes about naturally on a sailboat. Sailors can pray about things both big and small on their sailboat.
Sailors mainly pray while working. These prayers are simple and practical, mostly silent and in our heads as we tend to our sailboats and move about doing our work. Silent prayers are even more common on sailboats than public sea shanties, which sailors typically sing in groups to build a cadence for work efforts. Sailors pray when putting on sail, raising sail, tending the sheets, whipping, or splicing a line, and while doing repairs or maintenance on their sailboats. There is nothing too small not to pray about. It is good for sailors to pray for both big and small things. An example of something to pray for might be, "God, please let the wind die down a little while I put in a reef." Christian sailors also pray for fair weather, excellent wind speed and direction, and a safe passage. Sailors pray for strength to climb the mast, energy to get through their watch, warmth if it is cold or rainy, and safety when the forecast has arrived, and you know the weather is coming.
Sailors should be thankful for all the natural wonders around us as we sail. Sailors are closer to nature than most other people. What sailor could ever forget the first time they saw the magnificent night sky on the ocean, filled with millions of stars? Psalm 8:1-3 says, “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, who hast set thy glory above the heavens....When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained."
Sailors know cloud types and can pray for wisdom in how to interpret clouds to find more wind or a safer passage. Clouds in the Bible represent the majesty of God or protection. Psalms 147:7-8 says, “Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving....who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth.” Clouds are part of the natural cycle that God created. Sailors also pray for a clear sky and a full moon to illuminate their way at night or pray that a cloud moves out of the way of a celestial body they need to shoot with their sextant to navigate using the stars, sun, moon, or planets.
Sailors can thank God for creating all the wildlife we see as we sail. This includes birds such as ducks, geese, ospreys, and eagles, to name a few. It also includes whales, dolphins, and other sea creatures. Sailors can also offer thanks for the fish and crabs they eat at dinner. If you catch a fish on your sailboat, you and your crew should give thanks to God at dinner time for the gift God gave you and your crew from the sea.
Sailing is also an act of faith in that we have ample opportunity to forgive those who trespass against us. This includes forgiving that powerboat skipper who refused to give way to us properly, even though we know the powerboat was the give-way vessel and we were the stand-on vessel!
The above suggestions are ways for sailors to become more like God on their sailboats. This does not mean that we become God and earn our way into heaven. Our corruption is inherited from Adam and Eve, and because of sin, man is not able to please God on his own. This is supported by scripture in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,” and in 1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
This state that man is in makes it impossible for him to save himself. Because men are totally unable to save themselves spiritually, men need God’s divine grace. Although man is corrupted by sin and cannot save himself, it is comforting to understand that through our redemption in Christ we can grow more like God while on our sailboats. 2 Cor. 3:18 says, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” And in Rom. 8:20 it says, “….to be conformed to the image of his son….” By trying to grow more like God, sailors can become conformed to his image.
Sailors can also be thankful that, because we have redemption in Christ, we now have right standing with God, both now and when Christ returns. The Bible says we will be restored to God’s image. In 1 John 3:2, it says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
Even if sailors die and are lost at sea or die on our sailboats and are buried at sea, God is still with us. Psalms 107:23-30 says, “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they are quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. God is in control of everything, even the sea and the weather, and we can trust in God to help us.
Once we become Christians through Christ's salvation, we are forgiven for our past, present, and future sins. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.”
After we become Christians, we are still not perfect and need to ask for forgiveness and repent for what we do wrong. Since all of our sins were forgiven when Christ died on the cross, when we fail and sin again, God still loves us, but our ability to be close to God is inhibited. In Galatians 2:20, it says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loveth me, and gave himself for me.” Also in Romans 6:17-18 it says, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine that was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” For sailors who have trouble docking, it is reassuring to know that even our language during docking can be forgiven if we ask for forgiveness and try to do better next time!
These verses tell me that if we want to be close to God on our sailboat, we must be as obedient as we are able, and also be humble and realize that no one is without sin or is perfect, no matter how hard they try. By trying our best, however, the Holy Spirit can help purify and strengthen us. Ephesians 3:14-17 says, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…..that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…”
Works Cited:
Holy Bible: The Old and New Testaments King James Version. Holman Bible Publishers, 2023.