When the hurricane hits, the only thing that saves us is that specific word from God! Just like it saved Paul and the people who were with him on the ship on his trip to Rome!
They ALL lost hope, BUT that word of God kept them alive!
Pray so you can receive that word and keep looking up! He's coming to rescue us!
This story is beyond amazing. There is so much to say, but I will try to keep it short!
In Acts 27, Paul is on a ship headed to Rome to stand trial before Caesar after two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. It is the beginning of winter, and they have encountered nothing but fierce winds since they set sail. Paul warns about the dangerous weather, having been shipwrecked three times before.
He fears and warns them that they are going to lose the cargo ship and their lives. He tries to convince the owner and the shipmaster to stay where they are, despite it not being a safe place. Unfortunately, they decide to continue to a supposedly "better" and "safer" place nearby. It goes well for only part of a day before strong winds from the northeast drive them south, sending them into a Euroclydon, which is between a hurricane and cyclone and threatens to fulfill Paul's terrible prediction.
They were stuck in this horrific storm for days, to the extent that there was a point where they couldn't see the stars or the sun. Their navigational system was gone— no Google Maps, no Waze. Back then, they navigated the seas by looking at the stars— that was their map.
At this point, they had no way to know where they were going. They were lost at sea!
"Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up."
Paul knew that he was going to make it through— God had spoken to him in prison and told him that he would go to Rome. So, he held onto that word in his heart to help him endure. But what about the people on the ship?
He prays for God to save them, and the Angel of the Lord appears to him and reassures him that he will go to Rome and that no one will die.
"For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.'"
After he shared that word with the people, the sailors sensed they were drawing near to some land. Paul instructs them to take bread and give thanks to God.
They were finally encouraged, threw out the cargo, and finally jumped overboard, reaching land safely.
How did they all survive that horrific storm?
That specific word God gave Paul during his time in prison assured him he would make it through the nightmare he was living, and the second one encouraged him to help save the 276 people on board who were ready to jump in the water and drown.
The winds are against us, and there's no "safe" place for us to sail to! We're in the midst of a Euroclydon, and the only thing that will sustain us and help us endure is that specific word of God, both for us and for those around us.
Pray to receive that word and keep LOOKING UP, even in those moments when we don't see the stars!
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