Keep up your courage, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told

Acts 27:21-44 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. ²² Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.²³ For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, ²⁴ saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ ²⁵ Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. ²⁶ But we must run aground on a certain island.”

²⁷ But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that they were approaching some land. ²⁸ They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to befifteen fathoms. ²⁹ Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak. ³⁰ But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, ³¹ Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” ³² Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

³³ Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. ³⁴ Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” ³⁵ Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶ All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food. ³⁷ All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons. ³⁸ When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea.

³⁹ When day came, they could not recognize the land; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could. ⁴⁰ And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach. ⁴¹ But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. ⁴² The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; ⁴³ but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, ⁴⁴ and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.

Many people want to walk in the blessings and the promises of God. They want the abundant life that Jesus said He came to give. But how many truly want all that Jesus said? In Matthew 10:16-22 Jesus says:   “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”   Some might argue and say that those words were to the twelve when He sent them out; we are not among those twelve. Neither was Paul and in today’s text it says: Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on a certain island.”   This was not an isolated occurrance for Paul. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 Paul says:  Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.  How many still want the fullness of a life yielded to Christ?

Paul used the hardship and difficulty he faced as an opportunity to testify of Christ’s goodness, protection and provision. The text says:   keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on a certain island.” But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that they were approaching some land.  They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to befifteen fathoms. Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak.  But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.  Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.”  Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat.  All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food.  All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons.

Perhaps it was all of these experiences; all the good and bad things that happened in Paul’s life, that uniquely qualified him to write so much of what is our New Testemant scripture. The letters to the churches were written while he was in captivity. In Romans 8:28-30 Paul says: We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.  Everything that happened in Paul’s life, from the things he did before his conversion, to all the miracles he performed and all the suffering he experienced, all of it was caused to work together for good, because Paul loved God and was called according to His purpose. Like Paul, God foreknew each one of us too. In Jeremiah 1:5 God says:  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you.”  Sometimes when we go through difficult things it may not seem as though we are being glorified. But in those times we are being conformed to the image of Christ and what greater glory could there be than to be God’s child, His beloved? Like Paul, we need to use everything we experience as an opportunity to be a witness of God’s goodness. In today’s text, two hundred and seventy-six people were saved because of Paul’s faith and his purpose. Who knows how many might be saved today as we are conformed to the image of Christ in all that we do?

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; help me to always see You in the things that I go through. Thank You that as I am willing to yield to Your call and Your purpose for me, to be a witness for You, You will glorify me, conforming me to Your image and likeness.   Amen.