Pay attention to your circumstances AND continue to seek God for revelation. Acts 27
Paul was on his last major journey to Rome to witness for the Lord in the heart of the empire. His journey started well enough, as the centurion showed him kindness and allowed his friends to take care of his needs. Paul was a prisoner and therefore of little importance in men’s eyes, yet if it hadn’t been for Paul’s presence many people might have perished! The presence of God’s man made the difference between disaster and death.
Even on the first leg of the voyage the winds were unfavourable. “From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving of Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold to our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea”.
God can guide us in many ways, but He does speak to us through our circumstances and if things are not lining up for us then we need to pause and ask why?
The sailings were dogged by difficulties and progress was slow. But even more importantly time was passing and ‘it had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast(Day of Atonement, it was autumn and storms had begun in the Mediterranean Sea)’.
Ecclesiastes 3 & 8 speak about timing;
“Whoever obeys His command will come to no harm and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter”.
It is good to know the will of God for something in our lives but we need to know the timing as well. Rarely does everything unfold at once, more often we have to walk things out until the ‘proper time and procedure’ unfolds.
In Acts 27:10 Paul the prisoner warned the centurion and the sailors that this voyage would be a disaster for ship and cargo and their own lives(God later spared their lives). Sometimes the cost of pressing on with something is just too high and the outcome can be great loss. These men wouldn’t listen and paid the price.
God always wants the best for us, but we need to be aware of our circumstances and if God speaks to us through outside sources then we need to pay attention. Seek His will and His timing to avoid disastrous situations.
God bless and keep us this day.