Tonight at church, our pastor spoke of the adventure in Acts 27, where Paul and others set sail for Italy, on a potentially ill-fated voyage. Paul warned the soldiers that it would be dangerous, but they set sail anyway. The boat ran into a storm which lasted several days, the boat nearly came apart, men were terrified and the situation looked completely dire. Surely death was knocking at the door. However, God stepped in and told Paul exactly what to do; take courage and follow His instructions. When the men followed Paul's guidance, they made it to shore alive.
I've blogged about the shipwreck in Acts 27 before, but after listening to our pastor tonight, I have new insight for applying this to our own lives.
1. When the situation you're facing is dire, pray for daylight. Ask God for assistance!
2. After affliction strikes, cut the ropes. Sever ties to anything that keeps your focus from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Instead of taking things into your own hands to escape, drop the lifeboats so that you're wholly dependent on the Lord instead of depending on yourself (or idols that you take refuge in).
4. In the midst of turmoil, throw out the grain. This could mean anything that is weighing you down. Dig into the Word for strength and nourishment and then jettison everything that isn't essential for your "journey".
5. When God begins to work in your life, lose any anchors which may be dragging along, slowing your progress. This could include feelings and emotions, or "what if" scenarios of the past. Embrace the new thing that God is doing!
6. Untie the rudders and let God be in control of your life. He knows where you're supposed to go better than you do.
7. Jump wholeheartedly into God's will. Jump overboard and don't look back- put yourself out there and trust in the Lord for provision, protection and direction.
8. Get to Land, which represents your relationship with Jesus. He is your rock!
Acts 27 (English Standard Version)
1And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
9Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10saying, "Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." 11But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
13Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. 17After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along. 18Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. 19And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
21Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24and he said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.' 25So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26But we must run aground on some island."
27When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms. 29And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." 32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go.
33As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you." 35And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37(We were in all 276 persons in the ship.) 38And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
39Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. 41But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.
For September, my wife and I signed up for WSFC's "All-In" program. Basically, we've made a commitment with the church, stating that we're putting God first in our finances and have pledged tithes for the next three months. The challenge is to tithe cheerfully for three months and see what God has done in our lives during and afterward. If we find that we are not absolutely blessed, we'll be given a refund of the whole amount. Personally, I hope to tithe and step further into God's will and protection.
It's not that I want to "give" in order to "get". Rather, I'm interested in pushing my own fiscal fears and insecurities aside and jumping completely into faith that God will take care of us, even if the numbers don't add up on paper. This is one of the most exciting, yet frightening things we've ever done. It's where we jump into His arms with reckless abandon and take a real risk. I'll be certain to share more information with you, as this season unfolds.
Good Night
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