Pam Padgett ... teacher
Paul was put on a ship which was to take him to Italy. On their
journey they landed at a place called The fair havens, and the time of
year was when it was dangerous to sail. Paul warned them about setting
sail from there, but his warning was not heeded ...
Acts 27:9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now
dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,
10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with
hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our
lives. 11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner
of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul. 12 And
because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised
to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice,
and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the
south west and north west. 13 And when the south wind blew softly,
supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they
sailed close by Crete.
Depending on their own wisdom, the softly blowing south wind made them
think it was safe to sail. But soon a tempestuous wind arose. After
several days, all hope of surviving was lost ...
Acts 27:14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous
wind, called Euroclydon. ....... 20 And when neither sun nor stars in
many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we
should be saved was then taken away.
Although it looked hopeless, Paul received a word brought by an angel of
God which changed everything ... Paul would be brought before Caesar,
and those sailing with him would be kept safe as well. Paul believed
the word given to him from God. Based on this word, Paul told those on
the ship to be of good cheer because none of them would die, although
the ship would be lost, and they would be cast on an island ...
Acts 27:21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst
of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have
loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. 22 And now I
exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's
life among you, but of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night the
angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 24 Saying, Fear not, Paul;
thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all
them that sail with thee. 25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. 26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.
Having heard from God, Paul was able to direct what should be done.
When the shipmen started to flee the ship, Paul stopped them. And Paul
counseled all to eat. As Paul thanked God before them all and began to
eat, everyone else was cheered and they ate as well ...
Acts 27:30 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship,
when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though
they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, 31 Paul said to the
centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot
be saved. 32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let
her fall off. 33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all
to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have
tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. 34 Wherefore I pray
you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not
an hair fall from the head of any of you. 35 And when he had thus
spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all:
and when he had broken it, he began to eat. 36 Then were they all of
good cheer, and they also took some meat. 37 And we were in all in the
ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
The ship was destroyed, but all the people on the ship escaped safely to land ...
Acts 27:41 And
falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and
the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part
was broken with the violence of the waves. 42 And the soldiers' counsel
was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their
purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves
first into the sea, and get to land: 44 And the rest, some on boards,
and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
We sometimes find ourselves in situations that seem hopeless. Until we
hear from God, we don't know what to do. But when we receive and
believe the word that is from God, we are then able to move forward in
faith based on that word, knowing that word will come to pass.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
I was reminded of something that happened several years ago. I was on a
small team that developed software to be installed in a large
department. The installation was going very badly, impacting many
people's ability to do their jobs. In the midst of the problems, the
technical leader abruptly left on a vacation, giving no notice, and
leaving me as the only technical person to work on the problems. I
knew about only part of the system and was nearly paralyzed with fear as he
walked out the door.
But then, as I cried out to God, I was reminded of ... For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
I believed this was from God telling me He had given me soundness of
mind to deal with this situation and that the paralyzing fear was not of
Him and must not be followed. As I strongly thought on this, I was
calmed down and began seeing a step to take, then another, then
another. Believing God had given me a sound mind gave me courage to take each step. Sometimes needed information was brought to my mind. Other
times, I was reminded of someone to call who had needed information.
Bit by bit, the problems were worked through. Not only was I greatly helped by
this word from God, but the many people whose ability to do their jobs
were affected by the problems were helped as well as the problems were resolved.