Today’s devotion builds on yesterday.

Day 7: Dead Reckoning

Scripture Focus:

• “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” — Galatians 6:14
• “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17

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The Framework: Maritime Navigation

In maritime navigation, “dead reckoning” is the crucial process of calculating a ship’s current position without the use of stars or modern GPS. When a ship is out of sight of land and the skies are completely overcast, sailors cannot rely on the shifting, unpredictable waves to figure out where they are. Instead, they use dead reckoning—calculating their current location based on a previously determined, immovable fixed point. True navigation requires looking backward to a known, stable coordinate rather than looking around at the unstable environment.

The Message

In our walk with God, our feelings, emotions, and external circumstances are like shifting, unpredictable waves. The sermon emphasizes that there will be “years of drought” where we do not feel the presence of the Lord, hear His voice, or see any signs. If we try to navigate our spiritual lives based on our feelings, human wisdom, or what we can see, we will be easily blown off course.

To survive the drought, we must have a fixed point. For the believer, that single, immovable coordinate is Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

“The cross of Christ is the sweetest burden that I ever bore; it is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or sails to a ship, to carry me forward to my harbor.” — Samuel Rutherford

The Apostle Paul emptied himself of all the extracurricular hype, emotionalism, and persuasive human wisdom so that he could navigate entirely by the truth of the cross. He recognized that Christ did everything for us on the cross that we could not do for ourselves. Through His blood, God has reconciled us to Himself once and for all. Because of this fixed point in history, the old man is dead, the bondage is gone, and we are an entirely new creation.

We do not have to wander aimlessly or be anxious when the fog rolls in and the waves rise. We simply look back to the finished work of the cross. And having found our true position in Him, we are then called to sail into this lost and dying world as ambassadors, carrying the simple message of reconciliation to others.

Application

If you feel lost, unclear, or disconnected from God today, do not try to calculate your position by looking at your current successes, your recent failures, or the shifting waves of your emotions. Recalculate your position by looking back to the fixed point of Christ’s sacrifice. Rest in the reality that you are a new creation, reconciled to God through His blood.

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Lord Jesus,

I confess how easily I am blown off course when the fog rolls in and the shifting waves of my circumstances rise. Forgive me for trying to navigate my spiritual life by my fleeting emotions, human wisdom, or the unpredictable winds of this world.

When I experience seasons of drought or cannot feel Your presence, help me to stop looking around at the storm. Instead, draw my eyes back to the only true and immovable fixed point: Your cross. Thank You that through Your finished work, the old is gone and I am an entirely new creation.

Release me from the heavy shackles of religion and the pressure to perform. Let me boast in nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. As I anchor myself in Your grace, commission me to be an ambassador of Christ, faithfully carrying the simple message of reconciliation to a broken world through the blood of the Lamb.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.