“For I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me”. Acts 27:25
So the winds had been against the ship Paul was sailing on, but they ignored his advice and ‘when a gentle south wind began to blow they left and sailed along the shore of Crete’. The gentle south wind was a deception(it’s so easy for us to read into our situations what we want). ‘Before very long a wind of hurricane force, the north-easter swept down from Crete’. Things began to get really bad, they could hardly secure the life boat. Then they threw the cargo overboard and next day the ships tackle, desperate situation. ‘When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days(dark situation), we finally gave up all hope of being saved’. (Acts was written by doctor Luke, seems like he was on the ship).
‘After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up and said, you should have listened to me, but an angel of God appeared last night and stood beside me and said, “Don’t be afraid Paul, you must stand before Caesar and God has graciously given YOU the lives of all who sail with you”’. “So keep up your courage men, for I have faith it will happen just as he told me”! Paul declared God’s Word into their desperate situation to give them hope.
Sometimes storms seem like they’re never going to end, but eventually they always do! I have visited the Faroe Islands, far out in the Atlantic Ocean, south of Iceland and north of Scotland, linked to Denmark. I met a retired ship’s captain called Elmar, who had gone on a fishing boat at age 15 to Greenland. There was a bad storm, no one could eat or have a warm drink for three days(couldn’t heat food or drink). He spent his whole life fishing in those northern seas, but he never forgot that storm(he was very young). Storms teach us things that we would never learn in the easy going routine of everyday life and we all have our own life’s storms.
Paul’s ship eventually ran aground a sand bar near Malta and Paul had to tell the centurion not to allow the sailors to leave or they couldn’t be saved. This time they listened to him and after eating some food the entire ship’s company of 276 were saved. God had not abandoned them, the ship was destroyed but the people lived.
We may find ourselves in storms for different reasons, like the story of Job, but God is with us in the storm. Don’t lose hope, He cares for us and will help us in the buffeting.
God bless and keep you in the storms of life.