Face It

Typhoon, a novel by Joseph Conrad, is a classic sea yarn; the story of a tempest in the northwest Pacific that may contain the most harrowing, vivid description of a storm at sea in all of literature.

When the ship, the Nan-Shan, is about to enter the rage of wind and sea, Captain MacWhirr says to Jukes, the mate, “Don’t be put out by anything! Keep her facing it. They may say what they like, but the heaviest seas run with the wind. Facing it— always facing it—that’s the way to get through. You are a young sailor. Face it. That’s enough for any man.” I’m not a sailor, but I’m sure Captain MacWhirr was right; the way through a storm is not by trying to outrun it, or risk capsizing by skirting it, but by facing it and sailing on.

Amos 5.19 says, “As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.” Amos’s point is that we can’t run from trouble. If we do, more often than not, we only jump from the frying pan to fire. Try to avoid the lion and we run into a bear; run into the house to escape the bear and a poisonous snake bites us. There are things we can’t run from; our only way forward is by facing them.

Is there a relationship you need to mend, but have been avoiding because the mending will be painful (Matt. 5.23–25)? Face it! Is there a doubt that’s gnawing into your soul because you’re afraid of what the answer or explanation might be? Face it! Is the approach of death too frightening to contemplate? Face it! Ignoring it won’t make it go away. A storm is coming. We need to face that fact and get ready for the judgment day.

Kenny Chumbley