“Ready for the Storm” by Rich Mullins
The waves crash in
The tide rolls out
It’s an angry sea
But there is no doubt
That the lighthouse
Will keep shining out
To warn a lonely sailor
And the lightning strikes
And the wind cuts cold
Through the sailor’s bones
Through the sailor’s soul
‘Til there’s nothing left
That he can hold
Except a rolling ocean
Oh, I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
I’m ready for the storm
Oh, give me mercy
For my dreams
‘Cause every confrontation seems
To tell me
What it really means
To be this lonely sailor
And when the sky begins to clear
The sun it melts away my fear
And I cry a silent weary tear
For those who mean to love me
Oh, I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
I’m ready for the storm
The distance it is no real friend
And time will take its time
And you will find that in the end
It brings you me
This lonely sailor
And when You take me by the hand
And You love me, Lord, You love me
And I should have realized
I had no reasons to be frightened
Oh, I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
Yes, sir, ready
I am ready for the storm
I’m ready for the storm
Written by Dougie MacLean
Dear God, here are my thoughts on this song I know through Rich Mullins. It’s one of those songs I’ve never paid must attention to regarding the meaning of the verses. I can just sing along with the chorus.
Verse 1: I just picture the song writer, Dougie MacLean, sitting on a rocky coast in Ireland (to hear him sing he sounds Irish) and watching the waves crash against the shore while a lighthouse sits nearby. He’s imaging the relationships between the sailor, the boat, the water, the shore, the wind, and that lighthouse. From nature’s standpoint, the sailor is the only thing that is superfluous. They are all there for him. The sailor needs the boat. He needs the water to travel wherever he is going or hunt for whatever he is fishing for. He needs the shore for his life off of the boat. He even needs the wind, although he doesn’t need the storm. He needs the lighthouse to direct him from crashing into the shore. But none of these things need him. Their existence would be the same if he was or wasn’t there–well, maybe not the boat since the boat would be docked without the sailor.
Verse 2: The confrontations in my life leave me feeling like this sailor: Vulnerable. In danger. Dependent. Needing to struggle to survive. Lonely. “For those who mean to love me.” That could mean so many things. Did they love him and do the right things to confront him, but he rejected them? Did they reject him for the wrong reasons? With the sky clearing and the sun melting away fears…you know, this almost makes me think of someone going through rehab. The confrontation–intervention. The loneliness. The storm of getting sober. The lighthouse guiding to shore, but protecting as well. The sobriety melting away the fears. The tear realizing how others were loving him through the intervention. I could be totally wrong, but that’s what came to mind when I started to ponder the words a little.
Verse 3: Playing with my sobriety theory, the difficult thing about addiction is that it doesn’t really pass with time. Oh, perhaps it does a little, but it’s only one slip away. The distance is no real friend. You can still be lonely, even in your sobriety. But you take us by the hand, God. You comfort us. Love us. Give us peace. And the more we get to know you the more we realize that we have nothing to really fear. You are our hope and loving you is what it’s ultimately all about.
Father, I will never sing with passion that I am ready for the storm. Okay, never say never, but it is hard to imagine egging on Satan, you, or anything else in that way. But there are times when I have to set my face to the wind and just decide I’m going to do better, whatever that “better” might be. Life can be lonely, but I am blessed beyond measure by the wife you’ve given to me. And I’m not just saying that because that is what Christian husbands are supposed to say about their wives. She is unbelievable and amazing. She is so good for me. You do so much in me through her. Thank you that, for at least this moment, I am not a lonely sailor.
I pray all of this in the name of you, your son, and your Holy Spirit,
Amen
Emails to God 