Captain George Pollard, Jr. and his crew of twenty men were stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in three small whaleboats. The year was 1820, and their ship, the Essex, had just been attacked and sunk by a whale – a first for the Nantucket whale fishery.

Captain Pollard called a council with his first mate, Owen Chase, and his second mate, Matthew Joy. They all agreed they wanted to avoid certain islands to their west that were thought to be inhabited by cannibals. Captain Pollard wanted to sail west with the wind and current - 2000 miles to the Society Islands, which he thought had non-cannibal inhabitants. Chase and Joy disagreed. They were afraid of cannibals on the Society Islands. They proposed they sail against the wind and waves south and east towards South America.

What do you fear? Captain Pollard feared his mates’ opinions and yielded to their inferior route to safety. Second mate Joy was the first of the men to die. The mates feared cannibals; they committed the very atrocities they feared. For the next three months until they were rescued near South America, 12 of these 20 men would die.

Christians should not make decisions in fear. Do not fear what man thinks. That brings a snare. Only fear God; you need not fear anyone or anything else. Remember that God always loves you and that His love casts out fear. Draw close to the One Who loves you and fear none but Him.