Wind in Your Sails!
Photo credit: Roger Osbaldiston
Living in the South Pacific gives us close access to several beautiful Pacific Islands.
On one trip to Fiji with my wife, Nicki, we decided to try our hand at sailing.
We chose one of our resort’s free Hobie Cats and pushed offshore and we caught a nice little offshore breeze that took us out near the edge of the lagoon, sailing away, me showing my wife my instantly acquired sailing skills . . . until we stopped. Dead still.
The nice little breeze had gone, and we found ourselves becalmed.
Now, the lagoon was very shallow, and we could probably have just swum or walked back, but I thought it best to at least bring the Hobie Cat back to the resort. So we waited . . . and waited. Finally, a little offshore breeze came back . . . but we wanted to go onshore, not off. Eventually, we worked it out and managed to point the boat into the breeze and get back to the beach. We haven’t tried that again. And we are still married.
My home country, New Zealand, is well known for having some of the best sailors in the world; however, as you have picked up by now, I am not one of them. But the fact remains that even the best sailor in the world cannot go far if there is no wind. The power of the wind is a critical factor.
I think the same is true for our life, leadership, and living an integrated life.
As leaders, we need real wind in our sails—a power that goes beyond what we can humanly possess. This is where I believe the spiritual side of life is vital.
A truly integrated life is also a Spirit-filled life. I personally believe it is no surprise that in the Bible, the Greek word used for Spirit (and the Holy Spirit) is pneuma, which means “wind, or breath.”
The presence of God, in the form of the Holy Spirit in our life, can sometimes seem vague or ethereal. However, as we understand more about God through reading his Word, the Bible, and by talking with others who follow him, his presence becomes more and more tangible.
As people and leaders, just as we were never meant to live without the physical breath of life, neither are we meant to live without the spiritual side of life. We are dependent on the “filling” of our lives with the Spirit of God. Just as much as God created us to breathe physically, we need to breathe spiritually—to be filled with his Spirit, a “wind” that can give real power to our sails. By allowing ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we experience God’s power in our lives and are able to realize a greater impact that we could on our own.
When we open up to the spiritual side of life, then we can become fully integrated and able to live the life of leadership that God has always intended. I believe only God’s Spirit can give us the power to live as truly integrated and authentic leaders.
Of course, not everyone who is reading this is a follower of Jesus like me or has considered pursuing the spiritual side of life, but if you will allow me, I would like the chance to encourage you to consider the importance of the spiritual. In particular, I would like to encourage you to consider the life of Jesus as a model for an integrated life.
The Bible also contains a sailing story that ended a little more dramatically than my Fijian sailing experience. We can find it in the Bible in the book of Acts, chapter 27, where the missionary Paul sets sail from Israel for Rome.
There are lots of great insights we can gain from this story. However, there is one image, a simple phrase, that I want to draw out from this story. In facing the storm, it says they decided to let the boat give way, or surrendered to the wind, and let the boat be “driven along.” (“Acts” Chapter 27 verses 15 and 17). Rather than try and fight the wind, the sailors gave up, surrendered to the power of the wind, and let the boat be carried along by the wind.
Just as the wind can drive or carry a boat along, so too the power of God can empower and carry us along—if we are prepared to “let go” and surrender to the power of God in our lives.
In life and in leadership, we have the same opportunity to be “carried along,” empowered by the Spirit of God.
Too many times, we simply attempt to power our own boat. It’s like we sometimes choose to ignore the powerful wind, put out our small oars, and proceed to paddle against the wind, rather than harness the immense power of the wind to propel us forward with much greater speed.
One of the most uplifting movies I recently watched on Netflix was “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”.
The film is based on the true story of a 13-year-old boy who was kicked out of the school he loves when his family can no longer afford the fees. His village was also in a deep famine as their water pump was broken so they could not grow their crops to eat. Despite being kicked out of school he sneaks into the library and learns how to build a windmill to harness the power of the wind and get the water flowing again. In doing so, he saves his village from a famine. What a powerful story!
Perhaps you are in need or harnessing the power of the wind yourself?
The power of God’s Spirit is a consistent theme in the Bible, and it comes out again in the letter of Ephesians chapter 5 where the writer encourages the recipients to be “filled with the Spirit”—the same sense of being under the power, influence, and direction of the Spirit. He talks elsewhere about the “fruit of the spirit” that can come from being “filled with the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
If you ever wanted to be a person who demonstrates and possesses more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control, the secret may not be more self-effort, self-help books or courses, or therapy. I believe the answer is to be filled with the Spirit of God, who can help us produce this kind of spiritual fruit.
“
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.
”
For a branch, fruit comes naturally from staying connected to the sustenance of vine, in this case, Jesus. The branch does not need to work hard to produce good fruit if it just stays connected to the source. In the same way, we produce fruit as we are filled with the Spirit of Jesus.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
As I have mentioned before, I worked really hard in the early years of my leadership to be successful, which did lead to success, but it also led to burnout! Over the years since, I have learned more and more (and am still learning) how to let go more and be “carried along” by the Spirit more, to listen to what God wants for my life, focus on those things, and trust him for even greater fruitfulness.
I think this is a great example of what it could be like to work much, much smarter, not just harder.
I am hoping you are going to enjoy these articles which include excerpts from my book “The Integrated Life of Leaders” - you can get your own copy of the book here.
Questions for Discussion:
Where do you look to find the motivation and energy for your life and leadership?
Are you experiencing “wind in your sails” from the spiritual side of your life? If so, how have you seen this in your life?
What is one step you can take to move closer to growing more spiritually?