Grab the Rudder: How to Change the Direction of Your Life
Listen — if your life is headed in a direction you don’t want to go, you don’t have to just sit there and take it. Let me tell you something right now: this message isn’t designed to tickle your ears. It’s designed to put a tool in your hands so your life can actually be different.
Because here’s the truth — God gave you something powerful enough to turn the whole ship of your life around. And it’s already in your mouth. You just have to grab a hold of it and Fight To Win.
You cannot win if you’re passive.
Some people say, “Well, I don’t believe in works.” Neither do I — if you mean doing something to earn God’s love. He already loves you. You’re already blessed.
But let me tell you what I do believe in. I believe there are spiritual laws operating in the earth right now, and you’ve got to learn how to cooperate with them. You don’t have to believe in gravity — but if you step off a building, you’re still going down.
Passivity will kill your destiny. Quit waiting. Quit hoping. Get up and get in the fight.
Your tongue is the bit and the rudder.
In James 3, the Holy Spirit drops one of the most practical truths in the whole Bible. A mature person is one who doesn’t stumble with his words — because if you can control your tongue, you can control your whole body.
Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
James 3:3–5
You put a bit in a horse’s mouth, and the whole body turns. You grab the rudder on a ship, and no matter how fierce the storm, that ship will go wherever the pilot wants. James says that’s exactly what your tongue does.
Now, you can argue with me all day long. But you’d be arguing with James, the brother of Jesus. Good luck with that.
You are the pilot. God is the Navigator.
A lot of folks love to say, “Lord, You take the wheel.” Sounds spiritual. It’s not biblical. God is not the pilot of your ship. He’s the Navigator.
He’ll give you the direction. He’ll give you the instruction. But you’ve got to put your hand on the rudder. God made you family, not a robot. He wanted a partner, not a puppet.
Even the baptism of the Holy Spirit doesn’t override your will. God doesn’t grab your tongue and wag it for you. You have to yield it. You have to open your mouth and speak.
You can’t tame your tongue — but you can change what it’s hooked to.
Now, James also says no man can tame the tongue. So is it hopeless? Not even close. You can’t tame your tongue — but you can change what it’s connected to.
A spring only produces what it’s attached to. Bitter water source? Bitter water comes out. Sweet water source? Sweet water comes out. Jesus said it this way: out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
I used to be the word police. Somebody would say, “I’m so stupid. I’m such a loser.” And I’d say, “Don’t say that! Don’t say that!” Listen, that’s not going to work. You can tell people to stop saying it all day long, but under pressure it’s going to leak back out — because the fountain hasn’t changed.
The problem isn’t just the mouth. The problem is what they believe in their heart. Change the heart, and the mouth will follow.
Start ruddering in the right direction today.
So how do you change the source? You get the Word of God down deep on the inside of you. You meditate on what God says about you until it’s more real than what you feel or what you see. Then your mouth will start to change — because the source changed.
And once you know God’s will for your life, start ruddering there immediately. Not tomorrow. Not when you feel like it. Today. Start speaking what God says about you. Start speaking what God says about your situation.
The winds may be fierce. The waves may be high. The ship is big. But it will go wherever the pilot desires — as long as the pilot keeps his hand on the rudder.
Grab the rudder. Fight To Win.
You are not a victim of the winds. You are not stuck with where your ship is currently headed. God gave you a rudder, and He told you exactly how to use it.
Change what your heart is hooked to. Get the Word in you. Open your mouth and speak life, faith, and victory over your own situation. The ship will turn. The course will change.
Grab the rudder. Fight To Win. Start today.
