Storms in life, Peace in Jesus.

 By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Acts 27:13-38

 

Acts 27:22-25

Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³ For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, ²⁴ and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ ²⁵ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 

(ESV)

 

Since the outbreak of Covid in 2020, there have been plenty of stormy times not just in the United States but other parts of the world. These stormy times involved the shutting down of businesses and forced quarantine in some parts of the world causing the isolation of people from friends and families. However, for Christians, it presented an opportunity for deeper study of God’s Word and more time in prayer. For those using the downtime of quarantine for prayer and Bible study, the storms of life could lead to peace in Jesus.

 

The text of Acts 27:13-38 provides a pattern for one having peace in a storm.

1)      Despair (Acts 27:13-20) – The experienced sailors on Paul’s ship have most likely endured storms in the past and during this storm take the normal precaution of attempting to secure the ship's boat (Acts 27:13-16). This securing of the ship's boat also involved supports to undergird the ship, and fearing they would run aground, they lowered the gear (Acts 27:17). Due to the violence of the storm tossing endured by the sailors, they began to jettison the cargo and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard (Acts 27:18-19). However, with the darkening of the sun and stars for many days, all hope of being saved was lost (Acts 27:20). All this preparation with no results has left the sailors in despair.

2)      The message of Salvation (Acts 27:21-26) – In this state of despair, Paul speaks up reminding them of how he had warned them about setting sail (Acts 27:10), but Paul does not leave them in despair but offers hope. He tells the men there will be no loss of life among them but only the loss of the ship (Acts 27:22). Paul then shares about the angelic visitation he had, reminding him that he would appear before Caesar in Rome (Acts 23:11; 27:23-24). Paul’s angelic visitation also promised safety for the crew leading Paul to state his faith in God and that it will be exactly as God said but that the ship would run aground on some island (Acts 27:26).

3)      Resisting the temptation to abandon ship (Acts 27:27-32) – However, 14 days without sunlight or stars has caused the sailors to go back to fix-it mode, this time taking soundings of the depth of the water and dropping four anchors from the stern (Acts 27:27-29). The sailors began to look for ways to abandon the ship with Paul speaking to the centurion saying, “unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved (Acts 27:30-31).” Based upon Paul’s angelic visitation, the ship will be lost but at this point represents a safe haven for the sailors. Realizing this, the sailors cut the ship’s ropes and let it go (Acts 27:32).

4)      Peace in the storm (Acts 27:33-38) – Paul is at peace with God and what God has shown him through an angelic visitation and the promise that he would speak in Rome (Acts 23:11; 27:22-25). So at peace is Paul that he urges the men to eat since they have not eaten for 14 days and sets the example by eating himself (Acts 27:33-35). The sailors follow Paul’s example and eat until they are full and then lighten the ship’s load by throwing the wheat overboard (Acts 27:36-38).

 

The sailors in this text are in despair fearing for their lives and the lives of everyone on board and are doing what they believe is best to save everyone. In the middle of this storm, Paul has received an angelic visitation that reminds him he is destined to speak in Rome (Acts 23:11) which means he will not lose his life and that the lives of the crew will also be preserved (Acts 27:22-25). Paul has found safety from the storm in the promises of God’s Word and is so much at peace, the crew is encouraged.

 

Whatever storms in life we may encounter, we have a God able to save us. No weapon formed against the Children of God will succeed (Isaiah 54:17) with God working all things out for our good (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28). In these storms of life, those believing in Jesus as their Savior must resist the temptation to abandon God and revert to their own ways of fixing things and be at peace with God. May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.