Chaplains Corner

God’s Compass
Author - Marvin Williams

 from Our Daily Bread

 

During World War II, Waldemar Semenov was serving as a junior engineer aboard the SS Alcoa Guide when nearly three hundred miles off the coast of North Carolina a German submarine surfaced and open fire on the ship. The ship was hit, caught fire, and began to sink. Semenov and his crew lowered a lifeboat into the water and used the vessel’s compass to sail toward the shipping lanes. After three days, a patrol plane spotted their lifeboat and the USS Broome rescued the men the next day. Thanks to the compass, Semenov and twenty-six crew members were saved. 

The psalmist reminded God’s people that they were equipped with a compass for life, the Bible. He compared Scripture to “a lamp” that provides light to illuminate the path of life for those pursuing God. When the psalmist was adrift in the chaotic waters of life, he knew God could use Scripture to provide spiritual longitude and latitude and help him survive. Thus, he prayed that God would send out His light to direct him in life and bring him safely to the port of His holy presence (Psalm 43:3). 

As believers in Jesus, when we lose our way, God can guide us by the Holy Spirit and by the direction found in the Scriptures. May God transform our hearts and minds as we read the Bible, study it, and follow its wisdom!