Christian Living

Dont Jump Ship

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
12/11/20
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” (Hebrews 10:36)

I used to be a cross-country truck driver moving to and fro across the fruited plains of America. For the first few years of this work, I looked at each trip as an adventure. Even when I traveled the same route, it was always different. The first couple of years, the usual journey was to leave Dade City, Florida, and travel to Los Angeles with a frozen Orange Juice load. In California, I’d pick up some produce and carry it to Washington State. From there to Oregon to pick up some Apples and return home to Florida. It always amazed me that even as we never left the United States, each country’s area was unique in its own right and way. 

When in Louisiana, the people’s culture was very different than home. They moved about with different customs and little peculiarities of their own. They spoke English, but the accents were different. In Texas, a neighboring state, more differences came on the scene. Where oil and water do not mix in Texas, oil and cowboys do. My ball cap looked out of place there, so I got me a Stetson Cowboy hat, but I couldn’t come up with the drawl to pass through unnoticed. As I traveled on through the changing landscapes, I would arrive in California, a completely different place than anywhere I have been.

English was spoken with a mix of Spanish, if not all, Spanish. I was used to that coming from Florida. It is as if we are nations within a nation. If anyone has the opportunity to travel across America instead of flying, they should do it. For a space of time, I enjoyed all these new people, exciting views of the land, and living in the different cultures that are uniquely American.

The trucking company would promote the second seat driver and make them a first seat diver every now and then. It is always good to see someone advance and earn higher pay. I had one particular driver as we were not just a good team, but we became good friends over the months. The company wanted to make him the first seat driver, and as much as I wanted to tell them he wasn’t good enough, he was. I was so breaking character I unselfishly recommended him to the first seat. It was nothing that hadn’t happened before, and I would break in a new driver.

My new driver was called Music Man, and for a reason, he had an extensive collection of the most obnoxious music I have ever had to listen to. We would shift our positions every five hours because there is no way to sleep eight hours in a bouncing truck. If you are dead tired, you might sleep at least four hours. When it was time for me to take the sleeper, it was imperative to fall asleep quickly because it would not last long. But Music Man would play his music loud, and there was no way I could fall asleep.

That was hard to deal with, and we talked about it, but Music Man said he needed the music playing so he could stay awake. There was another quirk that drove me out of my mind also. I am not much of a small talker, and random subjects do not entertain me very long. Music Man was a constant talker, and every phrase ended with “you know it?” The subjects were so meaningless that, of course, I knew it. But always ending with a question demanded an answer. I would have to answer, and I made the mistake of giving up and saying no; I didn’t know that. That response would only cause me to hear an obvious thing that most people should have learned in school.

The most annoying thing about Music Man was when I was awake in the shotgun seat; he would constantly talk his gibberish. When I was in the sleeper trying to sleep, he would play his loud music. The annoying part was that when the music was playing, he would try to dance and drive simultaneously, which you can imagine was not a very safe thing to do when hauling forty tons of truck down the road. When he talked, he had to look at who he was talking to. Looking at me instead of the road was as bad as his dance.

We road together for a couple of months until I was quickly becoming a nervous wreck. I even thought about changing my handle to Nervous Wreck. I was trapped. I wasn’t abandoning my truck and step out into the open highway. To be left a thousand miles from home, that’s a long way to walk or ride the thumb. I couldn’t leave him stranded along the road somewhere either. Along the way, I had tried to talk about his spiritual matters, wanted to introduce him to Jesus, and tried to at least get him to listen to the country gospel. To no avail, there was no changing Music Man, and I was left with no escape. Then the time came when I did what I should have done all along, as now I know I should have; I prayed to the Lord. It was most certainly an earnest prayer.

Not long after that, there was a change in Music Man or maybe a change in me. Somehow I was able to sleep despite the loud music. I turned the unless conversations of Music Man into something meaningful, and he became interested in spiritual things. I had the privilege of planting seeds for the glory of God’s Kingdom. One more adventure after that, the dispatcher asked if Music Man was ready to be a first seat driver. I had to be honest, Music Man was nowhere near ready to be on his own, but I felt confident that someday he would be.

That was many years ago, but I was reminded of it while reading Matthew 8:23-27. It is the story of when Jesus and His disciples cross over the Sea of Galilee in a fishing boat. A storm came up, and the waves were tossing the ship. The waves were cresting over the boat’s sides and were beginning to take on too much water. While some of the disciples were fishermen, but they still became afraid and went into the hold and woke Jesus from sleeping. When Jesus woke, he spoke to the winds and calmed the sea. The Disciples were amazed that nature even obeyed Jesus.

 I wonder what would have happened if the disciples had abandoned the boat and jumped overboard. Would they have been able to swim to the shore, or would they have drowned? If they had jumped ship, they never would have received the blessing of being with Jesus when He cast out the legion of demons from the possessed man of Gadarenes. They would have missed the blessing of the whole country of Gadarenes coming to know of Jesus. They would have missed the blessing of building His Church.

We will always be faced with trials in this life here in this fallen world. We can see from history and our own experience this is true. But through these trials, we can have peace within our souls because Jesus has shown us the way. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

I believe there is a purpose for our trials. It is not that God wills them upon us but that when we face them, if we persevere in our faith in Him, He can and will lead us through to a blessing. These trials are beneficial to us because they cause us to grow in our faith, spiritual maturity, and character. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (James 1:2-3) (Romans 5:3-5). Stay in the boat with Jesus and abide in His will, which is the will of the Father, and you will be blessed with the inheritance which is in our hope in Christ.

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, October 31, 2018