If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:9-10

In sailing terms, the word “lee” simply means away from the wind.  So, anchoring “in the lee” of an island means counting on the mass of land that is the island to protect you from strong winds and rough seas so you can safely anchor and get a good night’s rest. The leeward side of the boat is the side opposite the wind.

As Christians, we must live in the lee of Jesus our Lord.  We cannot find true security in our bank accounts, friends and family, or career. We can only find true rest and safety by knowing that He is vigilant to protect us while we sleep and will keep us from all harm. John 6:37 says ³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.  John later says in 10:28-29. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. The prophet Isaiah also had a lot to say as well 49:16 “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” and 41:10” fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Although we are in God’s care, danger never lurks far away, and we must be on guard.  In sailing terms, we refer to that danger as a “lee shore”.  “Sailing by the lee” and a “lee shore” might sound similar but one is protection and one is danger.  A lee shore means that there is a shore to our lee from which we may need to protect ourselves. For example, if we motor away from that safe anchorage in the morning and our engine dies, a gentle breeze may push us into the lee rocky shoreline on the other side.

When people think about their Christian lives ‘hitting the rocks’, the first thought is usually relative to violating one of the Ten Commandments.  Or maybe, upon more reflection, the thought of not loving the Lord God and your neighbor as yourself. Deeper still are the commandments as explained by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount that even hatred of your brother is the same as murder.

We tend to think of either living in the lee of Jesus or choosing to wreck our faith on a lee shore as a single choice. However, the lee shore does not just reach out and grab us. The evil one knows we would be far more likely to object. The approach is far more subtle. The lee shore just sort of lies there waiting for us to come to it. The same is the way of the Father of Lies who lurks around every corner trying to tell us that our sin is not as bad as we think and that we don’t deserve forgiveness.

It often starts with questioning our faith and forgiveness …

• Is the Bible really the true Word (breath) of God?
• Did the Bible really say that so clearly?

And if the Bible really is true …

• Am I really good enough? (Answer: no but that is why Jesus died)
• I am a better person than most people I know. What about that guy? (Answer: you are not better than anyone but that doesn’t matter)
• Could Jesus’ death 2,000 years ago apply to sins I have yet to commit (Answer: strong “yes’)
• Can that nagging old sin that I constantly re-confess and maybe even re-commit really be forgiven? (Answer: Absolutely)

The apostle Paul does not shy away from going right at this issue. He wades into it fully in Romans 7 and says that, although we are fully rescued from sin by Christ’s atoning death, we still live in this fallen world and repeatedly sin.  To say we have no sin is lying. If we confess it we can be forgiven.

¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. ¹⁵ For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. ¹⁷ So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Paul concludes by stating that while the process is difficult the end is never in question.

²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³ but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. Romans 8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

In Philippians 1:6 he makes this point again by saying “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”.

So, we must fight on with the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit all on our side. We must stay in the lee of the Lord as cloase as possible but know that when we stray, He will be faithful to rescue us until that Day when we shall live and reign with Him and sin will be no more.