Eugene Peterson makes the wise comment ‘all the water in the ocean cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside; and all the trouble in the world cannot harm us unless it gains entrance to our hearts.’ (‘Praying With the Psalms’)
A wooden ship had to be made waterproof through pitch and caulking, pitch being the resin or glue spread on fibres which were pushed in the wedge-shaped seams between boards to make those seams watertight. Provided there was no leak in the ship, she could sail on the mighty oceans quite safely, but a leak could easily lead to disaster and the sinking of the whole vessel.
Faith, Eugene Peterson goes on, is to the soul what pitch and caulking are to the ship. As long as there is faith in our hearts, circumstances cannot sink us. While we hold on to Jesus in faith, we have protection from every storm of life: ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33, see also Ps 91:3-16).
Paul shows us what this looks like in practice: ‘we are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed.’ (2 Cor 4:8-9)
Let’s ensure our lives are watertight, so that even when trials, doubts and questions come, we are not destroyed; our faith is not capsized. Paul urges us to hold on to faith and a good conscience so as to avoid suffering shipwreck with regard to faith like Hymanaeus and Alexander. (1 Tim 1:19-20). With God on our side, who can be against us?