Happy Saturday and good ‘early morning’! I’ve got my first educational workshop today at SMU so I got up at 4:45 to make sure I could get my 5MC and writing in before I left. I’m so excited for this day and to get started on the new semester at the several universities I work with across the U.S. Since our programs are based on college campuses they mirror the fall and spring semesters so these times are busy, busy, busy. I’m blessed with work!
Well, since time is tight this morning let’s launch right into God’s Word and my favorite action/adventure chapter in it, Chapter 27, Paul’s Shipwreck. We read yesterday in Acts 26 about Paul addressing King Agrippa and at the end they dismissed him and sent him on his way to appeal to Caesar in Rome. We also looked at how this was always God’s plan for Paul, to witness for him in Rome. Today’s entire journey is another part of this plan, God’s plan to get Paul to Rome.
Now, right out of the gate you might say, ‘it was God’s plan to send Paul directly into the path of a killer storm, shipwreck him and almost kill him and his entire crew?’ Well in a simple answer, yes. Some would say that Paul is somehow out of the will of God because of the storm. I mean storms are bad right? The storm is God punishing him right? I mean when ANYTHING bad happens in our lives its God punishing us right? Absolutely not! Sometimes God sends us right into the storm or puts storms directly in our path for a reason. There’s no doubt that Paul is thoroughly in the will of God. We can see that as we have just studied the entire book of Acts and what God is doing to get Paul to Rome.
Lets look back at a another story where God sends His people directly into a storm. Back in the gospels Jesus puts His own disciples into a boat one night and sends them across the sea of Galilee. He told them to go to the other side and on the way a big storm blows up. He is God and knows everything, yet he sent them right into the storm? My friends, if you get anything out of the lesson today get this, we need to remember that we can be IN the storm and still be IN the will of God. He never promised us that we will miss the storms of life, but He has promised us that He will be right there with us in the midst of the storm and that we He will make sure we make the safety of the harbor.
Paul starts his journey on one ship to Myra along the southern coast of Asia Minor. Once there they change boats, this is the one they will sail on to Rome and the one that will wreck onto Malta. I did some research on the ship itself onetime and the facts are interesting to note. The ship was called a ‘Roman Grain ship’ and its primary purpose was to transport literally tons of grain to Rome weekly. At this time there were over 1 million people in the city of Rome alone, so the supply of food was a major importance. The grain and corn was grown out in the country and then brought into the city by these grain ships. The ships themselves were the largest, sleekest and fastest of the day. The ship was approximately 175 feet long with a width (beam) of 45 feet and a gross tonnage of 2600 tons. We see later in Acts 27:36 that the ship was carrying 276 men. Passengers were also regular fare on these grain ships as at this time the gladiator games were hugely popular so there was a constant ferrying of people to Rome to fight and die for the entertainment of others.
Right out of the gate the journey encounters problems. Now remember this was a sailing ship only (no motors in 59AD!) so if the wind was contrary, your direction of travel was contrary as well. It’s interesting to note here that as early as verse 27:9 Paul is telling the captain that this is a big mistake. I think that by now Paul is being warned by the Lord that really bad things are going to happen. I don’t think for a second that Paul is blind to the storm that is coming. Many times God will prepare us for the storm. Paul speaks up but the captain doesn’t listen, I mean he’s the professional boat captain right? Paul is just a meaningless preacher/prisoner in chains! Notice this great point here. The captain, sailors and soldiers throughout this voyage were depending on their human knowledge and their expertise alone to get them through the storm, but Paul was simply looking to God. When we depend on our ‘resume’ of what we’ve accomplished in life and depend on ourselves and not God, the storm will no doubt be tougher for us. This rings true here in Acts 27.
Now look closely at what happens next in Acts 27:15. The storm and winds get so bad that they have to ‘strike sail and be driven.’ My friends, men were trying their own way and it wasn’t what God wanted so he TOOK CONTROL. They had no choice but to take down their sails and let the storm take them where ever it may. What a powerful picture this is of our lives when they are lived in rebellion to God. When we are determined to go our own way in resistance to God, He will at times force us to drop our sails and he will blow us where he wants us to go. You can’t win against God no matter how much you think you’re right. This makes me think of Jonah and the whale. Jonah was running from God by going to Tarshish instead if Nineveh where God had told him to go. The ship he was on was about sink and Jonah after jumping overboard to save the crew’s lives was swallowed by a big fish. 3 days later where does the fish vomit him out at? Well of course Nineveh. My friends God has a perfect plan for your life and you cannot, no matter how hard you try, get away from it.
So now the storm has been raging for almost 2 weeks and they have already thrown most everything overboard as they are preparing for the worst. At this time an angel of the Lord comes to Paul and reassures him that he will arrive safely in Rome and EVERYONE on board will live as well IF they just stay on the ship. Paul relays this encouraging message to the men. Now this is one of the most enlightening parts of the story. A part of the story that reveals the true hearts of men. The message is clear, God said stay on the ship and you will be saved. But in the violence of the storm and in the panic for their lives, men will go their own way. A few guys sneak up to the front of the boat and making it look like they were dropping anchors they were really putting out the life boats to get off the ship. Amazing. Paul delivered a very clear message from God but these men had their own plans and their own way. Oh, the stubborn hearts of men.
Now here is another huge point. (In case you can’t tell, I love this chapter!) Notice that when God says that he will save Paul and everyone on board, he actually gives them a specific “how.” A specific set of directions to adhere to. Stay on the ship and you will be saved, get off the ship and you will die. You see they couldn’t be saved their way, they must be saved God’s way. This is true of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as well. God gives us a way to be saved and it has to be God’s way not our way. One of my favorite questions for people is “who do you think goes to heaven?” The answers always run the gamut. Most people say good people go to heaven. But who is good enough? If you kill 2 people and I only kill one, I’m technically better than you so can I go to heaven and not you? No one can determine who is good enough to go to heaven, it is not for man to determine but God. God says stay on the ship.
Paul continues to calm the men and he convinces them to eat something as most in sheer panic have not eaten in 14 days! Paul prays, gives thanks and they eat and strengthen themselves. They spot some land on the horizon, cut all four anchors and prepare for the worst. Now here comes the wreck itself. The ship is driven onto a coral reef and starts breaking up. So basically, as they front of the ship is stuck on the coral, the back of the ship is getting pounded by waves and surf break and it just beats the ship to pieces. This is the moment, everybody’s going overboard.
Now remember, this ship is full of Roman prisoners under Roman guard, Paul being one of them. The Roman guards know that even in this dire situation if they lose a prisoner they will likely lose their lives, so the custom was to kill all the prisoners so no could escape. Ooops, this is bad for Paul. But the centurion that had come to greatly trust and believe Paul kept them from this. This is not chance, luck, or coincidence. God has told Paul he would go to Rome and God orchestrates everything according to His will. I strongly urge you to stop even using those words in your life. God has a plan for your life and every single thing that happens to you and for you is part of it. There is no chance, coincidence or luck, it’s all God. Start recognizing everything in this way and give God the glory for all that happens to guide you, correct you and move you into His Will.
Now at this point I have to tell you that there is surfing in God’s Word. What? Yep its right here in Acts 27:43 the centurion “ordered all those who could swim to jump overboard and make for land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship, and so it was that all were brought safely to land.” You see its pretty clear, some of them grabbed a board from the ship and as the waves broke going into the beach they caught some tasty waves..ha! We always loved to joke about this passage in Maui when we were serving there as of course surfing was invented in Hawaii. We said, well its in the bible so we should do it too right? Good times with God’s Word!
Well, all 276 men are safe and sound on the island of Malta. God’s promises once again ring true. Tomorrow is the last chapter of Acts, chapter 28 and we will start out by seeing what happens to our newly shipwrecked crew. Even after the storm, Paul is ever closer to Rome and what God has promised him there.
My friends, when the storm approaches, cling to God and His promises. The storms of life are inevitable but God will be by your side for every minute of the gales and tempests, comforting you and whispering sweet calmness into your soul. Just remember to stay on the boat and let God guide you into safe harbor. He is the navigator of your life.
Blessings for your day and I pray your 5 minutes this morning speaks directly into your soul.
Have a beautiful Saturday.
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