Living in the Grace Groove
Stephen Knoblock

Sailing has been a part of my life since I was eight years old. Through the years I have learned many lessons at sea which have influenced me spiritually. For example, one of the most common questions I hear is "What is ‘abiding’ and how do I do it?" The way I like to respond to this question is to draw on my sailing experience as an illustration.

When one is sailing, and especially racing, the goal is to trim one’s sails and steer a course for optimum performance. To this end, one must learn to concentrate on the wind and be responsive to it. When a sailboat is in the right relationship to the wind it is described as being "in the groove". A sailboat in the groove seems to come alive as it effortlessly slices through the waves and will at times audibly hum as though it is responding joyously to the wind! Yet, when out of the groove the same sailboat will be tossed to and fro by the waves and the sails will begin to "luff" creating a disturbance as they shake the boat.

When we abide in Christ our life is like that of a sailboat in the groove. We pass through the day contentedly humming to ourselves. Even though we may experience many different circumstances during the course of the day, we pass through each without being slammed. Yet, if we lose our concentration on Christ, we may find ourselves becoming a victim of our circumstances and full of anxiety!

The way to stay in the groove or abide in Christ is to learn to look beyond one’s circumstances and focus on Him through prayer and meditation on His word. This is our goal as Grace Walk Ministries; to teach others how to be more responsive to God and live in the groove!