Acts 27:21-27 (NIV)
After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.
Into the midst of profound distress, even despair, God spoke not just a word of hope, but a promise of salvation. Even though the captain of the ship had ignored God’s wise advice given through Paul more than a week earlier, He was going to save Paul from the teeth of this all-enveloping storm, and He was promising to save the entire company on the ship as well, purely as an act of grace.
The message was clear. Despite the utter hopelessness that had settled over even the most experienced sailor because of their helplessness in the face of the storm, not a single person on the ship was going to be lost. God did not reveal the methodology of that salvation other than to say that the ship would run aground on an island. But Paul was able to clearly share how he knew that this promise would come true: it had been personally delivered to him by an angel.
During the trip so far, Paul had shared much of his story with the crew and passengers on the ship as was his custom, always looking for signs of openness to the gospel. Some of the more astounding parts of his story could be backed up by Luke, who had been an eyewitness of many of the miracles that had been done through Paul. So, when Paul spoke of an angel bringing him a message from God, many were already prepared to believe.
Paul’s faith in God’s promise of deliverance for the specific purpose of enabling him to reach Rome for his trial there was contagious, and it inspired a bit of hope in those who heard him speak. But the deliverance wasn’t immediate. He didn’t calm the storm as He had for the disciples on the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:22-25). Instead, He would use the storm to drive the boat to the island He had chosen, where the boat would ultimately be lost but every person saved, and where the whole company would find safety and hospitality until better sailing weather was available.
Father, when we are going through troublesome times, we often see the ending of the storm as the only acceptable solution. But a just as valuable solution is for You to preserve us through the storm and bring us safely to the other side. Help us, Lord, when we are besieged by circumstances, or even assaulted by evil, to stand firm and to look for Your deliverance however You chose to deliver it. Help us to hold on to Your promises that we receive in those circumstances, no matter how things look, for we know that Your every promise is sure. Amen.
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