I decided to paint the sea because of my trip to Greece and all the beautiful nature I saw there. But I wanted to capture more than just the beautiful nature in this painting.
Seeing this ship in Greece reminded me of the story from the Bible about the apostle Paul traveling on a ship to Rome.
Nowadays we have motorboats and ships that allow us to travel at our will and without much physical effort on our part.
But 2000 years ago people actually had to wait for the wind to carry the ship forward. They had to align their ship with the wind and then use the wind’s power to propel them along. If they tried to move the ship in their own power, that would take a lot of energy on their part and they would get worn out very quickly.
Paul together with the other sailors waited for the wind before they could get moving. In Acts 27 the Bible says:
“When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity;’’
Acts 27:13a
It’s interesting, that in the Hebrew Bible the word used for the Spirit is ruach. But ruach also means the wind or breath in Hebrew. So the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as the breath of God or the wind. And Paul along with other sailors had to wait for that wind or breath of God before they could get moving.
So we can learn from this that in the same way, we as Christians should also wait for the Holy Spirit’s power before we can start moving in our lives. In Luke 24:49 Jesus says:
“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
Luke 24:49
Jesus asked His disciples to wait until the Holy Spirit comes before they start their ministry because He knew they needed the Spirit’s power to be effective. In the same way, we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to be effective in our service to others.
It doesn’t mean we don’t take responsibility for our life. God still expects us to do our part. People on the ship still had to prepare the ship to sail and stir the ship and align it with the wind. But they could not decide which direction the wind was going to blow and how strong it would be. In the same way, we as Christians should do our part in aligning our hearts daily with the Holy Spirit and trusting in His leading.
You can watch the painting time-lapse here:
