June 9, 2003

SET YOUR SOUL ON GOD

It has always fascinated me that a ship or boat powered by sails is able to go in virtually any direction. The wind may be blowing continually in the same direction, but the angle of the sail transfers the wind’s force into movement in another direction. When the angle of the sail is changed, the boat or ship can be moved in yet another direction, until it is going almost straight into the wind. I just read the explanation of this in my grandson’s Physics textbook, but it still seems like magic to me.

An anonymous poem [see note below] applies this physical phenomenon to our spiritual experience:
One ship goes east, another west,
By the self-same winds that blow;
’Tis the set of the sail and not the gale
That determines the way they go.
Like the winds of the sea are the ways of time,
As we voyage along through life;
’Tis the set of the soul that determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

It is amazing that the same set of troubles and trials can make some people bitter and others better. In a great crisis, one person may fall to pieces while another experiences peace. It all depends on the set of the soul.

The angle at which a sail is set is the result of a decision by the sailor. After clarifying what the goal is and calculating the natural forces, mainly the wind, the sailor determines what angle will enable the craft to use these forces to reach the goal. Then he sets the sail with ropes, so that it will not be at the mercy of the forces.

The angle at which a soul is set is also the result of a decision. Each soul must make a personal decision and then set itself in the right position to use every circumstance to move the craft toward the goal. A believer in Christ will set her or his soul-angle to make the most positive use of circumstances. The Apostle Paul wrote that we should not be “tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind” (Ephesians 4:14). Rather, he said, we should “set our minds on things that are above” (Colossians 3:2). This takes a decisive act of faith.

So if we want to make sure we experience peace, rather than pieces, and that every experience makes us better, not bitter, let us set our souls on God, using the chart and compass of his Word.

–Pastor George Van Alstine

Note: Sep 2003 addition - this month, your webmaster was advised by two different people (thank you) that this poem was written by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. One of the two said that the poem is included in a book, "The Best Loved Poems of the American People (Garden City Publishing Co., 1936). That volume shows the poem as follows:
THE WINDS OF FATE

One ship drives east and another drives west
With the selfsame winds that blow.
'Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales
Which tells us the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,
As we voyage along through life;
'Tis the set of a soul
That decides its goal
And not the calm or the strife

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox.