Word At The Well - Burn The Ships

I invite you to join me for a Word At The Well. 

Today, I share the message behind the music of For King + Country's song Burn the Ships. This was a song that spoke to me early in my faith journey and has continued to encourage me. I pray it will do the same for you. 

Join me for the next Word At The Well when we go way back to Genesis 19 to dive deeper into the lyrics and remember Lot's wife. 

Thank you for joining us today at The Well. 

It is our prayer this time together will unite our community in action, motivated out of love and activated under a common mission. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Thank you so much for joining me today for A Word at the Well. I pray that our time together would encourage you and remind you that you are not alone. It was in the early to mid-2010s when I was finding my way back to God and his word. And this was after a defiant denial of his existence and the need for him in my life. And if I'm being honest, the Bible intimidated me. It felt overwhelming to know where to start. And when I did, I wasn't even able to make sense of what I was reading. So eventually I found my way to connect through Christian music and a life application study Bible. I would hear a song and then research the meaning and the verses it was referring to. I became familiar with the phrase burn the ships when First King and Country released a song of that title. In fact, it was so early on in my faith journey when I came across it, I didn't even recognize the verses from Genesis and Luke that it also referenced. I came to learn the song was written about the lead singer's wife and her struggle to kick a prescription pill dependency. But more broadly, it was about hanging on to something that doesn't serve you or him. The phrase burn the ships dates back to 1519 during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Hernan Cortez, a Spanish conquistador, set sail with 11 ships, 600 men, and 16 horses, leaving the safety of Cuba behind. Their mission? To explore and conquer the vast lands of Mexico, filled with unknown dangers and powerful civilizations. These men knew the odds were stacked against them, and I could only imagine this mission felt insurmountable. They were unfamiliar with the land, and they were vastly outnumbered by the some 250,000 Native inhabitants. And we're talking about Aztec warriors here, one of the fiercest opponents out there. The fear of the unknown and the possibility of failure was real. And that made the temptation to flee strong. After arriving on the shore of Mexico, Cortez soon noticed that his men weren't venturing far from the ships. Recognizing this hesitation in his men and the importance of absolute commitment for success, one morning Cortez ordered all his men to the land. And as they looked on, he gave the order to burn the ships. As they stood on the shore and watched the ships burn, they realized they had nowhere to retreat, nothing to return to. They had only two choices to move forward or die there. This act of destruction left no room for second guessing, hesitation, or thoughts of turning back. And it had a profound psychological effect on his men. Knowing that retreat was not an option, the soldiers were forced to unite and focus all of their energy on succeeding, on moving forward. And against all odds, two years later, after he ordered his ships burned, he and his men conquered the Aztec Empire and forever changed the course of history in the Americas. For me, my ship was guilt and shame for the life that I had been living. I knew right from wrong. I had been shown right from wrong. But it didn't matter. It was all about me. I didn't worry about who I was hurting or how my actions were affecting those who had never done anything but shown me love. My guilt and shame served as an anchor that kept me from moving forward and accepting the love and forgiveness of our Savior Jesus Christ. And I don't know what your ship is. It might be addiction, it might be a relationship or homes that felt safer. It might be a season where the pain had not yet arrived. Or you might even be looking back at pain itself because at least the pain is familiar. But today I want to encourage you that it is time to burn the ships and stop looking back at the things that are holding you from the future that God is calling you to. Today I pray you will look forward and that you will allow others to look forward. Not because the past didn't matter, but because it's finished. Not because the future is easy, but because Jesus is already there, moving, shaping, leading. Because here's the deal: if we want to be a people living and walking in the promise and hope of Jesus, forward is our only option. He isn't back there. Now, friends, this could preach a message on its own, and it did to me until I was recently re-listening to the song. So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships, and don't you look back. And don't you look back? And that's when it hit me. Remember Lot's wife? Join me next time for a word at the well as we go way back to Genesis 19 and learn more about Lot's wife.