Burn the Ships

On Monday, August 21, 2023, the Christian band, For King and Country, was in concert at the Alaska State Fair. It was a wonderful time of worship at one of the largest Alaskan gatherings of the year. With a population total of around 750,000 people in the state of Alaska, to have over 300,000 people attend this yearly three weekend event is quite an opportunity for the gospel and the glory of God. For King and Country did not disappoint. Our own Chase Cantrell who serves as our Institutional Advancement Dean at Alaska Bible College was able to bless the band with an Alaskan experience getting an up-close look at one of our many glaciers here in the state (see picture above).

“Burn the Ships” is one of my favorite songs that For King and Country has written and performs. It is a takeoff of a practice that some captains of ships have done over the years to ensure the commitment of the sailors to keep on task and not go back to the ships. You might remember that Cortėz, when he arrived in the “new world” in 1519, made history by burning his ships sending the message to his sailors that there was no turning back. For King and Country was spurred to write and perform their song due to a struggle that one of the band’s wives had in overcoming prescription drug abuse.

The message of the song has solid Biblical support in with several applications. Far too often, believers in Jesus struggle with living in their past either in the regret of things done or the reveling of “better days.” Paul had a past some of which he was ashamed of and some about which he could boast. God freed him from this burden by guiding him to write, “...one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for other prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, ESV). In essence, Paul burned his ships by accepting God’s forgiveness for his past failures and refusing prideful arrogance in light of his past accomplishments. This freed Paul by God’s grace to fulfill the mission that the Lord gave him to accomplish as the Apostle to the non-Jewish peoples of the known world.

All of us as followers of the Lord are called to burn our ships in our lives. Our Lord has set us free from our past brokenness and even our past prideful accomplishments so that by His grace we can humbly follow Him each day into “newness of life.” What ship in your life might you need to burn?

How did we get here?

All castaway on a lonely shore

I can see in your eyes, dear

It's hard to take for a moment more

We've got to

Burn the ships, cut the ties

Send a flare into the night

Say a prayer, turn the tide

Dry your tears and wave goodbye

Step into a new day

We can rise up from the dust and walk away

We can dance upon our heartache, yeah

So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships

And don't you look back

Don't let it arrest you

This fear is fear of fallin' again

And if you need a refuge

I will be right here until the end

Oh, it's time to

Burn the ships, cut the ties

Send a flare into the night

Say a prayer, turn the tide

Dry your tears and wave goodbye

Step into a new day

We can rise up from the dust and walk away

We can dance upon our heartache, yeah

So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships

And don't you look back

So long to shame, walk through the sorrow

Out of the fire into tomorrow

So flush the pills, face the fear

Feel the wave disappear

We're comin' clear, we're born again

Our hopeful lungs can breathe again

Oh, we can breathe again

Step into a new day

We can rise up from the dust and walk away

We can dance upon our heartache, yeah

So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships

And step into a new day

We can rise up from the dust and walk away

We can dance upon our heartache, yeah

So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships

And don't you look back

And don't you look back

And don't you look back