It is believed that the Hawaiian islands were discovered before AD 1000 – no one knows the exact date – by a group of seafaring Polynesians who inhabited and explored many of the islands in the South Pacific.

Looking at a map, Hawaii is one of the most isolated spots on the planet.  It’s pretty impressive that it was discovered so long before modern technology.

But what these explorers did to get there makes the story one of the most amazing I’ve ever heard. Because of its isolation, there is no way they would ever have known Hawaii existed. Though they were perceptive. The story is told they noticed a bird called the Golden Plover which migrated north out into the open water every year.  These birds were flying somewhere. Land must have been out there, the Polynesians just couldn’t see it.

So they set sail from the Marquesas to follow the birds.  That island is as close as you can get to Hawaii, but it’s still about 2500 miles away.  Using modern day equipment it takes roughly 30 days to sail to Hawaii from Marquesas. Back then, they were only using carved wooden boats and the stars and sun for navigation.

The Polynesians followed the birds closely, but the birds always flew faster than the islanders could row their dugout boats.  They could only keep up with the birds for short distances. At some point each year, they would lose track and have to turn back.

Each year they would try again, picking up where they left off the previous year.  Years passed by and they kept getting farther into the Pacific.  But still they never saw land.

According to one documentary, it took the Polynesians 400 years to finally reach Hawaii using this method.

400 years! As far as I know there is no written record to verify this is factual, but most historians do validate the Polynesians from Marquesas as being the first to “discover” the islands now known as Hawaii. 2500 miles in uncharted waters requires perseverance whether they discovered these new islands in one year or 400. How soon we often are ready to throw in the towel. Ready to give up on our quest, even when we sense our quest to be God-given.

We are only given 70-80 years on this earth. Our quest should be to daily persevere the waters of life and seek God’s direction. When you stand before God at the end of this life, will He recognize you as one like a Marquesas islander or one who turned around in the rough sea and settled for status quo?

George Yates is a church health strategist and coach assisting pastors, churches, and individuals in fulfilling their God-given purpose in life.