Light

   Hello again. 

Fridays seem to be coming around very quickly! Sadly though that does not seem to make this trip seem to go any faster! It's been a mixed week, with e-mails playing up for half the week, but then, all of a sudden, they started working again! You can't believe how much this cheered me up after a frustrating week and a half of having problems contacting home.

        As I have said before I get up every morning at 5am to go training. I finished the Insanity program and I am 3 weeks into a program called P90X. It's much the same except now I use weights to train as well. But this is not a blog about exercise!
        Every morning when I get up I go to the hangar to train; this is a large open space at the back of the ship. This past week I have been opening the large hangar door to let a bit of fresh air in to try to keep the temperature a bit cooler. This has had a really amazing effect. It's still boiling hot! But I have also managed to be blessed by one of the most amazing sights of Gods creation.
      
       When I get up its still pitch black outside, but this week there has been a large full moon shining down, add to this the millions of stars shining bright in the sky and it's a real effort to pull myself away from this amazing view and start training!
        
       Usually if the ship is sailing west, after about 30 minutes the sky starts to go the most amazing bright orange colour. Then slowly the sun starts to come up, causing amazing reflections on the calm sea. The few high clouds that are in the sky also turn a wide range of amazing bright colours. So many different colours I can't even begin to describe them.
        
        This morning however the sky was full of clouds, not a single bit of light from the moon shined down on the flight deck and when the sun rose, it just brought a sky of dull grey and dark colours. But the fact is the light was still there, shining bright behind the clouds. It was just obscured from view.
      
         All this week these sun rises and night skies have really made me think and reflect upon my spiritual life. Often when things are going well, it's quite easy to be a Christian. Things are all good, and it's easy to thank God for all the amazing blessings he has given us. Everything seems to be going to plan. It seems like God is right there with us and things are all going well.
      
         But when things don't go right it can often be a lot harder to be a Christian, we find it harder to find things to thank God for. We struggle; we can start arguing with God about the way things are going. We can even turn our backs on him. But he is there! Just as the sun was still there and rising brightly this morning. But just as the clouds obscured the sun this morning, the grey clouds and worries of life can obscure the light of God from our lives. We can feel like he is not there, but he is! He is always faithful and never changing! The Bible tells us that:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
       
        The prophet Isaiah wrote about this:

Isaiah 9:2 MSG (The Message)
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in a land of deep shadows - light! Sunbursts of light!"

        For those who read this blog who are not Christians I would say just try it, trust that no matter what is going on in your life, God can shine his light on you through any darkness; no matter how bad you may think it is. At the end of the day, he wants to know you; he cared about you before you were even born. So much so that he sent his son to earth to die on the Cross so your sins could be forgiven and you could let his light into your life.


Isaiah 42:16
 "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."

        For those who are already Christians I would ask you to look at your lives. Are there any areas where there are still clouds of darkness? Are there any areas where the light of God does not shine in your life? Pray about it; pray about it hard. And see the way God can shine into your heart and soul and really change you into the person God created you to be.

        The Sailing Salvationist