Of Our Inclinations and Voyage

“…for I know the inclination of their behavior today,” Deuteronomy 31:21

God is not surprised when we sin. Even before we commit an act, He knew the direction we were headed. That is true even though we didn’t consciously know our own heading and end. Every life is a voyage, and from the start, it is our sin that crippled the ship that our soul travels aboard as we cross life’s expanse. The heart; as its helm, is a most deceptive guide when guided by our hands; our mind is the sextant that is used to chart the forever-night skies… ever following the delusions of our heart and its depraved inclinations. Oh, by being afloat we believe ourselves to be above and safe, but we cannot fathom the sea of corruption that rushes below the water line. If only we saw there was no wind in our sails, but it is the current of our evil inclinations that carries us! Left unchanged, before us is an ocean of iniquity; continued violent currents and under tow; while behind, we can see the churning froth and wake that carries our hopes and dreams to darker, unseen shores where others who were shipwrecked gather.

Moreover, do not mistake the high and low tide as a going out and coming in of our sin and personal righteousness; as if a God of love would not judge us at the low tide of our sin; while living the high of our ‘personal goodness’.  Such are shallow thoughts, hopes, and again, misperceptions of our true heading. Yes, God is not surprised… He knows our inclinations and where we are headed. I once heard a story about a cowboy who rode his horse to church each Sunday, but when he arrived for the morning service, he was always drunk. When he complained to the pastor how he couldn’t overcome his temptation, the pastor asked him simply, ‘Why is it that you ride through town… directly in front of the saloon to come to church? You needn’t have gone that way. You live next door to the church!’ Yes, indeed, if only we examined our heading, but more importantly, what is the inclination of our heart with respect to the ocean we travel? Look over the side! Can you see your reflection in the water below? Can you see the darkness of it… the death and rancor of its color? Can you see the hopelessness and despair staring back? It’s yours. If only we understood that the most important environment on earth that man needs to address for cleansing is our own hearts, minds and souls! Then; and only then, we would find the inclination of our hearts turning to God as His elect… asking for repentance… believing on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ! We would then continue our voyage… we would find the breath of the Holy Spirit filling our sails and moving us!. We would learn that the fleshly undertow diminishes as He works in us both to will and empowers us to do His pleasure. Yes, Christ would captain our ship and our mind would look through the sextant of His Word, the Holy Scriptures. This is not to say we won’t face times of great difficulty and trial; stumbling and perhaps feeling; as Peter did when he first stepped into the sea, that we will surely drown for a lack of faith.

Indeed, as Christians, we remain within the same ocean. That will be true as long as our soul occupies this earthly ship. We are told that as long as we live that our flesh lusts after the Spirit and His Spirit after the flesh. However, this ‘lusting’ is borne out through our inclinations, and as we grow in the Lord, we learn how to read the ebb and flow of the currents and when and in whom to seek safe harbor through prayer, meditation, the study of God’s Word and fellowship, one and another. May this be the inclination of our hearts today and shown through our behavior.