Written ~ 07-09-2024
Read Acts Chapter Twenty Seven
Acts 27
Chapter twenty seven is a wonderful visualization of what life can look like when a storm hits at full capacity. We will certainly see the calling and purpose the Lord had on Paul’s life while weathering a life threatening storm.
In verses 27:1-11, Luke gives us a pretty detailed charting of the ship’s course, this course would ultimately bring Paul to Rome, just as the Lord had promised. But along the way it becomes evident this journey was not going to be easy sailing.
Acts 27:9-11…
9 The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall, and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers about it.
10 “Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.” 11 But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul.
Paul’s intuitiveness and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit was telling him that danger lay ahead if they kept pushing against the storm. No one was listening to his warnings, instead, they did the opposite of what Paul had suggested.
Ok, let’s stop right there and apply this to our own lives… what if you were making decisions in life and someone you knew personally, someone who is full of God’s presence and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, warned you that the direction you were heading was going to cause heartache and put you in a very compromising position. Would you listen? Or would you ignore the discerning advice and continue with whatever your heart desires? The storm is on the horizon, the warning signs are blatantly evident, do you forge ahead without giving any thought to the consequences? Or do you wait, do you wait on what the Holy Spirit is prompting you to do?
In verses 17:9-11 it’s obvious the officer’s, the captain and the owner of the ship that Paul was on did not heed the warnings he was trying to give.
Acts 27:13a…
13a“When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it…”
Isn’t it so true how this scenario can play out in our own lives? We make decisions that go against what the Bible teaches. We look out on the path we want to take, it doesn’t look so bad, what’s the big deal… so we venture out.
Acts 27:14…
14 “But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength burst across the island and blew us out to sea.”
Then, what seems to come out of nowhere a storm hits our life. Either we didn’t take the advice from someone whose wisdom, had we listened, could have stopped us from going through this particular circumstance. Or it’s possible the Lord placed a storm in our path to get our attention, to drive us back to Him. In the case of the sailors in chapter 27, they did not heed the warnings, they sailed on, not thinking about the consequences of that decision. A storm hit with such force that they were not able to fight against it. They did not turn to the Lord for guidance in their time of great need. Instead, all they did was try in their own strength to make things right. When that doesn’t work, the situation gets even worse.
Acts 27:15…
15“The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale.”
What is a “gale?” A gale is a wind that can reach anywhere from 32 – 63 miles per hour. The ship was being battered and in an attempt to save it the sailors started throwing things overboard, precious cargo, the ship’s gear and in another attempt to save the ship they lowered the anchor to slow it down.
Look at the similarities between the sailors on this ship and our lives when going through a storm. We can feel as though we are being tossed about by a heavy wind. Our life feels like an endless “gale” of circumstances that batter us until we feel like we are going to fall apart. We start trying to fix things on our own, we throw aside valuable resources, family, friends, the church, even the Lord as we try that much harder to make things right. In a final attempt to calm the storm around us, we plant ourselves stubbornly right smack in the middle of it and watch as everything we once cherished is being ripped away. All because we did not heed the warnings that a storm was coming.
When you and I take our eyes off the Lord, when we ignore the instructions given to us in God’s Word, we run the risk of finding ourselves in a storm that could’ve been avoided. What is the solution? I think if we’re honest, we know exactly what the solution is… get yourself back in fellowship with the Lord, get back in contact with strong, faith-filled Christians, seek the advice from family who have your best interest at heart and will pray with you to manage the storm you find yourself in.
But… You may have to hear (in so many words), “I told you so.”
Acts 27:21-26…
21“…Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. 22But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. 23For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, 24and He said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in His goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ 25So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as He said. 26But we will be shipwrecked on an island.”
Do you hear Paul’s “I told you so?” “…you should have listened to me in the first place…you would have avoided all this damage and loss…” When we make decisions that go against the Word of the Lord, consequences will follow, guaranteed. There’s no escape. Will these sailors finally listen to Paul? In verses 27:27-44 it does seem like they are finally taking the advice from Paul. It did not mean they would instantaneously be brought to safety, no they still had to weather the consequences of the choices they made. The rest of their storm would be difficult. As with us, when we have finally come to our senses and turn our eyes back on the Lord, we will still need to make our way through the stormy weather. The difference is that our focus will be on the Lord and we will seek His guidance to make our way through the remaining effects of the storm.
Acts 27:30-38…
30Then the sailors tried to abandon the ship; they lowered the lifeboat as though they were going to put out anchors from the front of the ship. 31But Paul said to the commanding officer and the soldiers, “You will all die unless the sailors stay aboard.” 32So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said. 34“Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.” 35Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it. 36Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat— 37all 276 of us who were on board. 38After eating, the crew lightened the ship further by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard.
In verse 24:30 it looks like the sailors are trying one more ditch effort to do things their way… but Paul’s warning was actually listened to this time, the commanding officer took Paul’s advice and the life of those sailors were spared.
Then what do we see? Still in the midst of the storm everyone on the ship gathered together, Paul gave thanks to the Lord and they had a simple meal together. This brought much needed encouragement. After gathering together, after giving thanks, after sharing a meal together, their perspective changed. Verse 27:38 says, “After eating, the crew lightened the ship further by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard.” You might be thinking, “why would they throw food overboard, wouldn’t they need it?” Isn’t it possible that we hold on to things while going through a storm because we are afraid to let go of what seems to be of great value? What if the Lord was asking you to throw some of your “precious cargo” overboard? Would you do it, trusting He knows best how to take care of you? Maybe you are experiencing a fierce storm because you are not willing to let go of some things and the Lord is trying to show you that the “things” you hold on to for dear life is not what is going to save you. Some of those things we hold on to, things like anger, fear, hurt, deceit, unforgiveness, stubbornness, selfishness, cannot bring us through a storm safely and it’s when we come to that realization that we can “throw them overboard.” We may try to rationalize that we need those things to survive, but that actually is further from the truth. What we need is our focus to be trained on the Lord, our survival kit is found in the Word of God. Once those obstacles in our path are tossed aside, our path can be seen much more clearly, we may need to jump over a few more hurdles, but the light at the end is growing brighter.
Acts 27:39a…
39a“When morning dawned, they didn’t recognize the coastline…”
When Christ takes over our lives, His view is going to look much different than ours. As we emerge from a storm our lives may look a lot different. We may not be familiar with what the next step is going to look like. But when we put our trust in the Lord the result of our storm will find us safe in His arms.
If the sailors, officers and captain of that ship had not finally listened to the godly advice Paul was giving them, they would have all perished in that storm. Now, it may not be that our “life storms” cause that kind of bodily harm, but they certainly can harm us emotionally, spiritually and mentally. It could be that our storms bring us to a place of inescapable numbness because we refuse to put our focus on the Word of God. If Paul’s actions of giving thanks to the Lord, breaking bread and gathering everyone together to unite them with sustenance and encouragement had been pushed aside, the outcome for everyone involved would have been devastating. Same goes for you and me… we have so many choices to make every single day. We can either listen to godly advice or not. We can decide to weather a storm with the Lord or not. We can throw unnecessary “cargo overboard” or not. Until we realize the storm we may be going through is because of a choice we made by not following God’s will, we could wind up “sailing” against a “gale” to no avail.
Acts 27:39-44…
39When morning dawned, they didn’t recognize the coastline, but they saw a bay with a beach and wondered if they could get to shore by running the ship aground. 40So they cut off the anchors and left them in the sea. Then they lowered the rudders, raised the foresail, and headed toward shore. 41But they hit a shoal and ran the ship aground too soon. The bow of the ship stuck fast, while the stern was repeatedly smashed by the force of the waves and began to break apart.
42The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape. 43But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land. 44The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely to shore.
We see the light at the end of the tunnel. It may still seem out of reach, but by grasping the Lord’s hand we make a run for it. Running to safety may not mean it’s going to be easy. We still must pay the consequential price for making poor life decisions, but no matter what tries to throw you off course ~ keeping your eyes on the Lord at all times is what will bring you through those consequences with your life intact.
The men on that ship, had many decisions to make, had they listened to Paul from the very beginning, could it have meant their destination plans would be delayed? Possibly. Could it have resulted in their ship not being torn apart and shipwrecked? Probably. Could it have caused their course to be storm free and easy sailing? More than likely.
Look at some of the life altering decisions you have made recently. Which course did you take? How did it work out for you? If your decision didn’t work out as planned, what would you do differently now? If you relied thoroughly on the Lord, could you see His hand working through every detail? How often do we run our life “aground” by not heeding to the instructions given to us in the Scriptures?
Let’s come together, let’s “break bread” together, let’s give thanks to the Lord – no matter our circumstances, let’s provide the necessary encouragement each of us needs to make it through our storms.
We must praise the Lord even in the midst of our storms…
~AMEN~