It was a blessed privilege to worship the Lord in His sanctuary on His Holy Day yesterday, but today is Monday, and perhaps you are facing a duty in which you see no way you can go forward. We would like to see the difficulties removed before we have to pass through them! It is sometimes easy to want to stand still and wait for the obstacle to be removed, when our Lord wants us to go forward as if there were no obstacles! I have been thinking about this thrilling poem, and what a tremendous lesson of perseverance Columbus gave to the world in the face of tremendous difficulties! I trust that it will be a blessing, challenge, and encouragement to your heart as you read it again today!
"Behind him lay the gray Azores, behind the gates of Hercules; Before him not the ghost of shores, before him only shoreless seas, The good Mate said: 'Now we must pray, for lo! the very stars are gone. Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?' 'Why, say, Sail on! Sail on! and on!'
My men grow mutinous day by day; my men grow ghastly wan and weak! The stout Mate thought of home; a spray of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. What shall I say, brave Admiral, say, if we sight naught but seas at dawn? Why, you shall say at break of day, 'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'
They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the Mate: 'This mad sea shows its teeth tonight. He curls his lip, he lies in wait, with lifted teeth, as if to bite! Brave Admiral, say but one good word; what shall we do when hope is gone'? The words leapt like a leaping sword: 'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'
Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck and peered through darkness. Ah! that night of all dark nights! And then a speck---A light! A light! A light! A light! It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! It grew to be Time's burst of dawn. He gained a world; he gave that world its grandest lesson: 'On! sail on!'"
And this morning, dear friend, we are sailing, too -- sailing on and on through the storms of life -- and I believe the Good Captain of our souls would encourage us to day to make sure we've anchored in Jesus, and our anchor is holding firm and secure!
"Though the angry billows roll on my tempest driven soul, I am peaceful, for I know, wildly though the winds may blow, I've an anchor safe and sure, that can evermore endure. Mighty tides about me sweep; perils lurk within the deep; angry clouds overshade the sky, and the tempest rises high. Still I stand the tempest's shock, for my anchor grips the Rock.
I can feel the anchor fast as I meet each sudden blast -- Through the storm I safely ride, till the turning of the tide. And it holds, my anchor holds! By His grace I shall not fail, for my anchor holds; my anchor holds!" Praise the Lord!
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