1 Timothy 6:6-10
Rebecca Lightfoot
In the next verses of 1Timothy6:6-10,Paul is giving a “heads-up” to a smart;ambitious;energetic young man...about what will atTEMPT to set the rudder of his him away from the TRUSTED/TRUE course for his life.The sailor analogy from the other day has 2 parts to it. The first part is seeking and receiving the TRUTH and setting our sails to know the feeling of our sails filling with the unseen power of the wind.The second part is adjusting our rudder according to the “TRUTH/SOURCE” of the unseen wind so that we keep aiming toward THE TRUE COURSE for life,instead of drifting off THE TRUE COURSE&away from THE TRUTH/SOURCE.We may set our sails correctly,but unless our rudder is adjusted RIGHTLY toward THE TRUE COURSE/THE TRUTHS for life,we will soon face the peril of going off THE TRUE COURSE, or even worse flipping over and losing the safety of a sailboat’s ballast/TRUE FAITH.There are always adjustments in sails AND rudder that give us the greatest potential for an “UNshipwrecked” journey through life’s challenges.Many times we will set our sails to catch the Wind/The Spirit and feel the exhilaration of the sails of our soul/spirit filling with God’s Presence,but then be TEMPTED to adjust the rudder/direction toward a course away from THE TRUE COURSE for life INSTEAD of seeking HIS PRESENCE in our lives by turning the rudder of our mind/heart/life toward HIM.1Tim1:18-19 says this,“Timothy, my son, I give You this instruction in keeping with the prophecies made about you(heeding God’s Word),so that by following them(rightly adjusting the rudder/direction of our mind/heart/life)you may fight the good fight,holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have REJECTED these and so have shipwrecked their faith.” This is a primary purpose for Paul’s letter to young Timothy....to give him the wisdom/instruction needed for an UNshipwrecked journey through life.The devil is all about leading us to being shipwrecked by messing with the way we set our sails AND by atTEMPTING to have us make the wrong adjustments of our rudder and pointing our lives toward a course away from THE TRUE COURSE for life/THE TRUE PURPOSES for life.In the lives of Christians,especially in today’s environment of mega churches and awesome worship experiences available to us for “filling our sails” with the Presence of God,the devil will turn to his more effective&more sneaky way of “shipwrecking” us - which is the second part of the sailing analogy->how we adjust the rudder of our mind/heart/life to stay the course of SEEKING/FOLLOWING GOD!1Timothy6:9-10 tells Timothy what a most effective tactic of the devil is-“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation,into a snare,into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.It is through this craving that some have wandered away from THE FAITH and pierced themselves with many pangs.” The TRUE COURSE/TRUE PURPOSE of our lives is to know the GLORY of GOD...through the Mercies and Grace of Jesus Christ!When we “aim/focus and adjust the rudder of our mind/heart/life” through anything else & toward anything else,the course we set for our lives will be far from the JOYS and the PEACE that God desires to bless us with/the TRUE DESIRES of our heart...,and not the false desires that eventually shipwreck our lives (Psalm37:4”Delight yourself in the LORD;And He will give you the desires of your heart.Commit your way to the LORD,Trust also in Him, and He will do it.”).As in the time Paul is writing this letter to Timothy,so it is in ours...a most effective way the devil will atTEMPT to get us off of THE TRUE COURSE/THE TRUE PURPOSE for life will be by putting before us temptations that lead to traps/snares, that at their core are senseless and harmful desires put us into a course of being shipwrecked/plunged into ruin and destruction.Dear Lord Jesus,make me so aware of how I am making adjustments in the sails and the rudder of my mind/heart/life...that these are the first things I check in the morning...and a priority to check throughout every day....work freely in my heart to convince my “head” and “body” to choose the right adjustments throughout every day that will keep me on a course toward YOU...and far away from all “conditions” that would shipwreck my mind/heart/life.