The Ballestero Blog

Is Your Ship Is Sinking?

No likes the thoughts of a ship sinking, especially if they are on board. The knowledge that it is sinking would surely bring reactions of horror and panic to us all!

Current Ship Sinking Statistics.

According to Wolfgang Rosenthal, the Senior Scientist with the GKSS Research Center, at least two large ships sink each week, or about 100 per year.

The same scientist also mentions that 200 super tankers or container vessels over 200m in length have sunk over the last 20 years, or 10 per year in this class of ship.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_times_a_year_do_ships_sink#ixzz1PqEAOt00

The sinking of most ships never seems to be investigated with the same fervor as an air crash.  Normally, the sinking of a ship is written off as a result of bad weather.

The Plimsoll Line

In the 1800’s, overloaded merchant ships often sank in stormy seas.  Over 500 English ships sank in one year alone. They were so overloaded with merchandise, that all it took was one good storm to sink them. Sailors sometimes called them ‘coffin ships’.

An Englishman named Samuel Plimsoll devised a means to calculate the capacity of a ship. He produced a formula that determined how much cargo each vessel could safely handle in stormy waters. He then  determined where to draw a line on each ship to mark its capacity.  The ship was to sit no lower in the water than the marked line and still be considered safe. For many years it was simply referred to as the Plimsoll Mark. In more modern times the name has been changed to The International Load Line.

Two different times in the New Testament, the Disciples had near death experiences. Their ships were on the very verge of sinking, but for different reasons.

A Ship Sinking Because Of The Storm.

Whether the ship is a cargo ship or a human life, they both face storms. Neither is exempt.

The beloved Disciples of Jesus encountered a life-threatening storm. Jesus was in the boat asleep. The waves were high and the winds were very strong. The boat began to take on water. So much water came into the boat that they all feared they would drown. Even with Jesus in the boat it looked like they were going under.

Luke 8:22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

Luke 8:23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

Luke 8:24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

The Storms of Life Happen To Us all.

• Financial Disasters
• Home Foreclosure
• Unemployment
• Heart Ache
• Moral Failure
• Church Problems
• Consequences of Bad Choices
• Family Turmoil
• Marriage Problems
• Health Problems

Our minds readily grasp the concept that our personal ship of life can sink in a bad storm. It’s only God’s mercy and divine intervention that any of us are here today.

All it might take to sink our ship is one good storm. If you are loaded down with the cares of life, if you are loaded down with pressures, troubles, worries and fears, then be careful. Storms can happen. One good storm could sink you.

Even though we live for the Lord, that doesn’t mean we can avoid all storms. The only thing that kept the Disciples’ boat from sinking was that they called on Jesus. Call on Jesus still works today!

A Ship Sinking Because Of A Blessing.

The bad news can get worse. It is one thing to have your boat sink because of a storm, but there is also the possibility of your ship sinking because of a blessing. Imagine sinking in good weather with calm seas.

Luke 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

Luke 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Luke 5:6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

Luke 5:7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

Their ship was filled to overflowing with the largest catch they had ever gotten. And it started to sink. They did ask for help however, to keep them from sinking.

We pray almost all of our lives for God’s blessings. Some prayers for blessings are just generic in nature, I know. Yet there are some blessings we’ve prayed for that if we had gotten them, they quite possibly might have overwhelmed and sunk our little boat.

Imagine, our ship sinking because of a blessing! Some folks seem to be blessed with everything in life.

• Jobs,
• Money
• Ability
• Success
• Power
• Good Fortune
• Position

Their financial and earthly blessings sometimes have caused their spiritual boat to flirt with disaster. Too many have sunk while their ship was loaded down with blessings.

The same God who knows how much storm your ship can handle, also knows how big a load of blessings it can handle too. Trust Him.

When the Disciples saw they were sinking, they chose not to go down quietly. They wished to keep their blessing and keep afloat at the same time. What did they do? They called for help! That lesson is 2,000 years old, but it is still good advice today.

Is Your Ship Sinking? It Doesn’t Have Too!