Daily Devotional

A few years ago, I headed out to Millerton Lake with a friend and our sons for a day of fishing. As I stepped off the dock and into the boat, the only thing I told myself was, 'Yeah, this looks stable.' I didn't ask who manufactured the boat. I didn't demand to see its safety inspection records. I just trusted it. Most of us would do the same. We don’t rigorously test a boat before pushing off from the shore because if we spent all our time engineering-testing the hull, we would completely miss the joy of being on the water.

But there is a fascinating reality about boats: the moment they hit the water, the lake is constantly trying to get inside. Not in a “the water is alive” or “out to get the boat” type of sense, but I mean the water is doing what it does because of gravity and pressure.

Our spiritual lives operate similarly. We live in a world where culture, media, and daily anxieties are relentlessly pressing against us, trying to find a microscopic crack to leak through. If we aren't careful, compromises creep in, and we slowly begin taking on water.

When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was sitting in a dark Roman prison cell. Yet, surrounded by the literal and figurative "waters" of hardship, he gave us the ultimate blueprint for structural integrity. He tells us to guard our minds. We are to actively choose what we dwell on: things that are true, honorable, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy.

Fixing our minds on Christ isn't about ignoring the world's problems. It’s about ensuring the world doesn't get inside our boat. When we practice guarding our thoughts, the God of peace promises to navigate the waters right alongside us. Our boats don’t sink because they are in the water; our boats sink when we let the water in.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.