Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/2x7jy9

I’ve never been deep sea fishing or on a cruise. In fact, I’ve never been where I couldn’t see land at some point while I’ve been on a boat. Knowing that the safety of land was just a few hundred feet away was always a comfort to me. But that feeling of security would soon diminish if I could see no land and if a storm quickly appeared.

A good pilot on a ship will know where the dangers are and how to avoid them. He will also know how to read and trust his instruments in order to steer the ship on the correct setting. In short, without a good pilot, the ship is in trouble.

Edward Hopper was a Presbyterian minister who lived in New York and served a church called the Church of Sea and Land. While in his duties there he ministered to many who were sailors. Hopper would often write verses and songs that would help his ministry although he would do so without ascribing the authorship to anyone. One such song was “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me.”

He gained his inspiration for this song from Matthew 8:23-27.

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Everyone needs a pilot in life. Even the most experienced among us still look to one greater than us for our education. God provides that guidance in this life through His word. And Hopper understood that important fact and helped make that understandable to the sailors through his use of sailing terminology.

Here is the first verse of this song.

Jesus Savior, pilot me,

Over life’s tempestuous sea;

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treacherous shoal;

Chart and compass came from thee,

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

Edward Hopper suffered from a weak heart and on the evening of April 23, 1888, he sat in his study and was working on a new poem titled, “Heaven.” He was found the next morning, lifeless, but with his pencil still in his hand and the poem nearby.

In the third verse of his song Hopper had written, “When at last I near the shore, May I hear Thee say to me, “Fear not, I will pilot Thee.”

Storms will arise quickly in our lives. Are you ready for them? Can you steer to your destination without seeing the shoreline? When the wind and the waves overtake you can you maintain your calm and work toward your goal?

Friends, without God in our lives we cannot be successful in steering our lives. We need a pilot to guide us. Jesus, Savior, pilot me!

On Our Daily Walk today, may we withstand the temptation to live our lives only on our own and look to Jesus and God’s word to guide us safely to our destination.

Our thought for the day: “Men give advice; God gives guidance.” Leonard Ravenhill

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.