"The Set of the Sail"

"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself..."  (Daniel 1:8)

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."  (Proverbs 4:23)

But to every mind there openeth,
A way, and way, and away,
A high soul climbs the highway,
And the low soul gropes the low,
And in between on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.

But to every man there openeth,
A high way and a low,
And every mind decideth,
The way his soul shall go.

One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time, 
As we journey along through life,
  'Tis the set of the soul,
  That determines the goal,
                                                                                               And not the calm or the strife. 

                                                                                                                     by:  Ella Wheeler Wilcox

You don't have to be a seasoned seaman to understand a fundamental law of a successful voyage:  It's the set of the sail, not the force of the gale, that determines the way we go.  

This poem has always been special to me and I feel that contained in it's words is a very strong "life lesson".  The heavy winds of pressure to do what others want us to do (peer pressure) will continue to blow hard through all the years of our life.  But that won't decide what we do.  No, it will be the set of our sail, preset before God, before the choice arises.  It is not the wind that rules, it's the set of our sail --- or the set of our mind, our heart, our will.... that will determine the way we go!

And thus we sat in darkness, Each one busy in his prayer;

"We are lost!" the captain shouted, As he staggered down the stair.

But the little daughter whispered, As she took his icy hand,

"Isn't God upon the ocean, Just the same as on the land?"

~ Eugene Field 

When testing and trials come, we do not have to be a victim to sin.  God has given all of His children the will and the power to resist Satan, and to live lives that are victorious, while sailing upon life's sea.

 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro , and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness , whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"  (Ephesians 4:14)