Chap’s Perspectives from the Sea

Excellent or Praiseworthy is posted on Monday and Thursday nights.

Editor’s Note: We are grateful to this Navy chaplain who shares with us his evening prayers from the sea.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. — Psalm 121:1,2

Day One—“Aloft, there are workers looking aloft”

In sailing days of old, as well as steaming days before radar, a crew member would be sent aloft into a crow’s nest to gain a better perspective—to try to look over the horizon.

So also were the castle parapets or advanced scouts who acted as signalmen. Their vantage points were crucial to sounding warnings, beginning battle preparations, or announcing a great victory.

For the faithful psalmist living in troubled times, the principle was the same. But the focus God provided the psalmist was further over the horizon than the best trained eye could see. “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1,2

This view gave the lookout a focus beyond the sunset or sunrise. As stunning as each unfolding of the landscape or seascape may have been, the psalmist went deeper. He looked beyond the canvas of creation and found The Creator. A Creator who both sustains and replenishes. One who promises to be found when sought, not only in the failing wisdom of man but in the ever-present help and life-giving wisdom of God.

Father, as we look again at the canvas of our day and into the horizon of our night, we seek Your brush across the canvas of our lives—and Your light in the dawning of a new day. More so, Lord, we seek Your promise to lighten our load, and endurance for the journey. For our families, we ask for a vision of the enduring strength of love. May this vision be of safety in our return and memories in the lessons learned. Amen.

Day Two—“Gibraltar: Consider the Rock”

The Strait of Gibraltar is a significant marker in our sea journey. To sailors of old, it was the last marker of the known world.

To the strategist, Gibraltar represents a rock or fortress that will not move when all else is a mess.

To the insurance company Prudential, it spawned a slogan “Like a rock.”

To the psalmist, the rock represents the Lord as a fortress and deliverer from whom faith can be launched, sustained and secured.

In the next days, as we pass Gibraltar, consider how God can become a rock and fortress for you within the journeys or storms which may lay ahead.

Lord, as we slip through the Strait and glide into the night, may we remember that You are our Gibraltar—a rock that does not wander or waver, ever present in times of need; a rock that shelters us from the storms and anchors us to hope; a rock upon the horizon where our watches look for the coming sun.

As our course narrows and events are scripted from one fleet to the next, we ask for Your comfort in the narrowing distance between our shipmates and their families; we thank You for their unfolding legacy; we ask for our reunion to write this legacy as a message of love; and may You warm our watching and still our waiting. Amen.

Day Three—“Piloting Our Life”

Throughout our journey, multiple pilots have guided us safely in and out of harbors and past hazards seen and unseen. For the most part, these pilots are unobserved by the crew, yet they have been working on our behalf.

A simple call to the Pilot House or a visit to the Stern Dock would reveal their presence in what we would have otherwise missed.

Throughout our journey, another Pilot has been accessible. Try placing a call or extending a visit to the Stern Docks of your own life. This Pilot’s promise is to lead us beside still and living waters, even when we are within the bitter lakes of our lives. How will you know Him?  Allow me to introduce you . . .

Lord, as we bring the horizon into focus within the canal before us, we invite You to pilot our helm and stand as our watch. Passing on from one water to the next, may You guide us on the left, on our right, far beyond what is in sight. Passing on from one water to the next, may You guide our remaining journey. Still our waters before us—and our hearts within us. May we all be placed within Your care. Amen.

Questions to Share:

1. Pray for each other to look for God’s perspective in this deployment.

2. Share a time when you have thought of God as your “rock” or your “pilot.”