Summer At Sea: Week 13 Day 1

ACTS 27:27-32

27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ships, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away.

I love water. I love swimming in it, boating in it, even just watching it. To me, water is beautiful, refreshing, life giving, and often fun. On the other hand, water can also be dangerous, scary, and even life ending. I won’t ever forget a cruise we took on the Caribbean Sea that was very enjoyable up until the last night, our ship was rerouted because a hurricane was in front of us! The ship was rocking and rolling, we had to hold on to the walls to walk, the pools almost emptied themselves of their water, and we couldn’t sleep. I got sick from all the motion; it wasn’t a fun experience.

Paul knew all too well how being in a storm at sea felt. He and his fellow travelers were aboard a ship on the Adriatic Sea (part of the Mediterranean Sea) late in the sailing season, around 60 A.D., heading to Rome. Paul, a prisoner, was going to stand trial before Caesar, although he hadn’t done anything wrong or illegal. Although the situation was desperate and they feared they would die in the hurricane-force “Northeaster,” God provided exactly what Paul and the others needed at every moment of the journey, saving their lives and fulfilling His purposes along the way. 

When we are enduring difficult or seemingly impossible situations in our lives, sometimes for years or even decades, how do we avoid being “dashed against the rocks” and not drown? Sometimes it’s hard to trust God because we don’t see a solution to our problems, and the storm rages on. God, however, truly cares about us, walks beside us, and often works through our circumstances to bring glory to His name. We need to let Him steer the ship, provide endurance for the journey, and give us hope, according to His plan.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).