Life is truly a struggle and trial,
A sea to cross for a little while;
The course is set on a chart by trust
And the journey we take is a journey we must.
The storm will rage and ships go down,
And souls may float or swim and drown;
Some may sail through peril and blast
And see a shore appear at last.
And if by rocky shoals they land,
They find the ground is sinking sand.
Could it be as some suppose
While in the ship below repose,
That the chart is true and the ship is sound,
And the course will lead to richer ground?
Or is it so as the Word declares
That the only hope is to prepare,
And to trust in God to navigate
And lead on to a better state?
One might trust the godly chart
And not the reasoning of the heart.
And when the Saviour takes the helm,
There’s peace on board throughout the realm;
A heavenly place His care will afford,
When the Captain is Jesus Christ the Lord.
R. DeWitt (July 1994)