Captain Joshua Slocum left from Boston Harbor, MA on April 24, 1895, at the age of 51, in the rebuilt 37-foot sloop Spray. He returned, sailing into Newport, RI, on June 27, 1898 after single-handedly sailing around the world, a passage of 46,000 miles. This historic achievement made him the patron saint of small-boat voyagers, navigators and adventurers all over the world. I was always fascinated by his story and dreamed of doing a similar adventure until I finally came to grips with my tendency toward seasickness.

One particular leg of his voyage has fascinated sailors for over a hundred years. Somewhere in the Indian Ocean, he set his helm, and went 23 days, hardly touching it over a course of 2700 miles. He sailed right into the Keeling Cocos Islands' harbour before touching the helm again. Here's how he describes it in his book Sailing Alone Around the World:

"I didn't touch the helm, for with the current and heave of the sea the sloop found herself at the end of the run absolutely in the fairway of the channel. You couldn't have beaten it in the navy! Then I trimmed her sails by the wind, took the helm, and flogged her up the couple of miles or so abreast the harbour landing, where I cast anchor at 3.30 p.m., July 17, 1897, twenty-three days from Thursday Island. The distance run was twenty-seven hundred miles as the crow flies. This would have been a fair Atlantic voyage. It was a delightful sail! During those twenty-three days I had not spent altogether more than three hours at the helm, including the time occupied in beating into Keeling harbour. I just lashed the helm and let her go; whether the wind was abeam or dead aft, it was all the same: she always sailed on her course. No part of the voyage up to this point, taking it by and large, had been so finished as this."

I started thinking about this in light of the Church. My good friend, Pastor Buff, who was for many years a military pilot, then an airline pilot for Delta has had a totally different experience. He told me that even the best airliners need course correction when they are flying. And life is like that. Joshua Slocum's experience is the exception. We need to evaluate where we are, and see if the direction we are going will get us to our destination, then correct the course until it does. But a one-time course correction is not enough. It takes constant maneuvering to compensate for the currents, winds and storms of life.

I see so many people in the church today wandering around with no idea of their destination. So the first step of proper navigation is to have a goal, a destiny, and a purpose. Even boaters who just go out for a day or two of fun sailing have to return to their starting point lest they wander around forever like a ghost ship. There are only two sources for our destiny: God or Satan. We can either let God define our destiny, or else Satan will. What is it -- It's different for each person. So each one of us must seek the Lord and find out what He wants us to do.

Then the storms, tribulations and trials come, which tend to blow us off our course. I remember when I was 19 and in college I had known for two years already that God wanted me to be a missionary. But I almost got blown off course by the dream I mentioned above of sailing. Another couple had invited me to help them build a catamaran and sail the Caribbean. I was tempted, but the call of God was stronger. That was a course correction.

Other times, discouragement, frustration, and the fog of uncertainty and lack of faith kept me from seeing where my destiny lay. If we can't see very far, we can't know which way to go unless we have some vital tools to help us. The minimum is a compass and a map. However if we place ourselves in the wrong place on the map all our best navigation is to no avail. This actually happened to us on our first trip as a family into the Banawa tribe. I studied the map and placed our starting position where I thought it should be. After an hour of travel, the river ran out! I was actually a few miles farther back than I thought, so missed a turn in a river that was 15 miles wide with many islands in the middle and many coves. So God has given us a map -- the Word of God, and a Compass -- the Holy Spirit to guide us. We need to spend time with both every moment of every day. Here's what Joshua said (Not Joshua Slocum!) (The Message Paraphrase):

And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Jos 1:8 MSG

So the secret to success is meditating on the Word of God. Yet many Christians today are not even reading their Bibles. And the secret to getting where you are going is a dynamic, living relationship with Jesus Christ through the constant presence of the Holy Spirit. Now, that's quite a mouthful. But I have learned and am learning that the more I am in tune with the Holy Spirit, the more direction I get.

And the more I make "Course Corrections" along the way, the more I stay on course. This speaks of obedience. If we are not obedient to the calling God has for us, how can we expect Him to give us more direction?

This has come home dearly to me several times, but the most painful was the day when I thought I heard the Lord say we should do something. I told my wife and she said "Well, let's do it." I said OK, but first let's go to the Post Office and bank and then come back to do it. I don't have space to explain what that "something" was, but because of my lack of instant obedience I missed out on something of great gain to us. So when the Lord says "jump", I am now inclined to jump much faster than I used to -- but I am still learning!

One more thing about Joshua Slocum's boat. The reason he was able to sail so straight for such a long distance was because that boat had a long keel which added much to its stability. That combined with excellent lines, and symmetric construction made it go straight with little attention to the helm. There is much less need for "course correction" if our lives are stable, and balanced, based totally on the basic principles of life that God has given us.

Jesus said: "How narrow is the gate and how constricted is the road that leads to life, and few are the people who find it!" Mat 7:14 ISV

So, let the church Get on Course!