Are you a passionate follower of Jesus? Do you deny yourself, pick up your cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23), just as the Master said? Do you abide in Him (John 15:1-8), the Living Vine? If so, then I have some very, very good news for you.
THE STAR OF THE SEA
With your life focused on following the Master, He is using your example for the sake of others, that they might be encouraged to follow Him also. You are to them as ‘the star of the sea’. The star of the sea is the “North Star”. For centuries mariners have used the stars to navigate the oceans of the world. They use “The North Star, Polaris” because of its location in the northern skies, near-fixed over the earth’s North Pole. “Polaris” shows a mariner ‘true north’. Using that fixed and reliable point in the sky the mariner trained in “astronavigation’, the science of navigation using the celestial bodies, can plot a course to their planned destination. The “North Star” itself is not the destination. The “North Star” serves to orient the navigator, and is indispensable in plotting his course.
YOU ARE SOMEONE’S ‘STAR OF THE SEA’
Like the “North Star”, in the same way, your example of following the Lord serves as a ‘star of the sea’; a “guiding light” to help others orient themselves to plot their course while following Him. We are examples to other believers, of both the weak and the strong. And we are examples to those not following Christ. Do not kid yourself, you are being watched, whether you realize it or not. Do not be tricked into thinking that your example is not important. Satan’s demons work in constant trickery and lies to try and discourage believers. This is because the enemy understands the importance of the example of your life as a follower of Christ. If the enemy can shake or even discredit that ‘star of the sea’, he can make them to look a little less reliable and certain to those looking on.
VICTORY IN TROUBLES
The Lord uses our example of faith for the sake of others, even if our lives are in the middle of very trying circumstances. If God quit using people just because they were going through trials, I think there would be no one left for Him to use. Trials do not ‘dis’qualify us as being the Lord’s examples. In many cases, triumph over trials is a ‘badge of authorization’ that we ‘are’ qualified to serve as examples of those following Jesus. As has been said, “It is in passing the test that we then have our testimony.”
It was a literal ‘furnace of fire’ where the king had thrown the three Hebrew governors, yet they were not destroyed because God preserved them (see Daniel chapter 3). The king said, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Jesus (or perhaps one of His angels) was with them in their test and God was glorified in the presence of the king. The king ended up saying, “There is no other God who can deliver like this.” Now ‘that’ is a testimony!
GOD REWARDS FAITHFULNESS WITH PROMOTION
God rewards faithfulness. Even that wicked king promoted the three governors who had stood the test. Jesus showed us how faithfulness is rewarded in the kingdom of heaven with one of His stories, “His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’” Luke 19:17. Let’s remember to be careful in the kingdom to allow our promotion to come from the Lord, and not take it upon ourselves to promote ourselves. “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” Psalm 75:6-7.
STAY IN FAITH AND HOLD FAST
The Lord can and does use us as guiding lights, examples for others to follow, even through our own struggles. “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” Hebrews 10:35-36. The word translated ‘confidence’ means ‘to have bold freedom of speech’. We speak of all the times God has caused us to overcome struggles, and it serves as a reminder to us and others that He can and will do it again, as we stay in faith, doing His will, and hold fast. We hold fast to our confidence in His faithfulness. He says then, “when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” We ‘hold fast’ in that fixed location, and as we do others receive strength from our example. He upholds us as the ‘star of the sea’.
Written by Bob Blase
Featured Image by Mike Setchell on Unsplash
