Acts 27 - The Shipwreck That Led to Faith!
21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” Verses 21-26
In Romans 8:28 Paul wrote, "And I know God works all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose."
Paul was writing not just out of principle, but out of his life experience. This is just one example out of many. In this case although Paul was the prisoner, he was the one who took charge and saved all of the passengers on board. He had already given advice to the centurion and pilot, which they disregarded to their own peril. But now God gave Paul the opportunity share his faith in Him and how God would hear his prayers of intercession for all.
They were a captive crowd because they hadn't eaten in a long time. You can imagine the hope Paul gave the men when he said, "Not one of you will lost but only the ship".
They probably were disappointed that all of the cargo on the ship would be lost, but at this point they were fearing for their very lives. Paul had already met Jesus in a vision and had been spoken to by angels, so supernaturally experiencing God was not new to him. God again sent one of his angelic messengers to comfort and encourage Paul. Most importantly the impending shipwreck gave him to preach the gospel and show the men his faith in God's promises.
The gospel was preached indirectly in that they were all guilty and deserving of death, God was going to spare their lives through the intercession of Paul. Paul had hoping by answering his prayer, the men on board would see the God who Paul believed was trustworthy. Paul spoke with much conviction by His faith in God, and God would keep the promise He had made with Paul regarding the fate of the men.
Paul believed God when there was nothing else to believe. He couldn’t believe the sailors, the ship, the sails, the wind, the centurion, human ingenuity or anything else – only God. This was not a fair-weather faith; he believed God in the midst of the storm, when circumstances were at their worst. Paul would say along with Job: Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15). The storm and the danger were real, but God was more real to Paul than the dreadful circumstances.
Later, Paul again stood in the gap and encouraged them to eat. They had not eaten for 14 days, and he told them they would not survive unless they ate. He took the opportunity once again to show God's grace, as he broke bread and gave thanks to God.
Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board.
You see once again Paul assures them that not one of them would lose a single hair on their heads. He uses language similar to Holy Communion, as he broke bread and gave thanks to God. They followed suit, showing they were now trusting in Paul's leadership. This was no small group of people, as their were 276 men were on board!
Finally, we see the centurion's gratitdue to the apostle Paul.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.
God fulfilled all of His promises to Paul, as would soon be evidenced . The soldiers wanted to intervene to kill the soldiers, but the centurion not only spared Paul's life, but all of the men. I personally wonder how many of these men came to faith, especially the centurion. At the end of the day, he certainly trusted Paul and his God!
This is another miraculous instance in Paul's life. Jesus had promised Paul that he would get to Rome to testify on his behalf. As Paul lived a life of radical obedience God made sure these promises were fulfilled in full view of these 276 men, the soldiers, the centurion, and pilot!
How is God calling you to be step out in obedience, like the apostle Paul did on this voyage? How will your faithfulness and belief encourage others to believe in Your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Heavenly Father, thank you that you always honor your promises you make to us. No matter what happens in our lives, you can use it for good, as we trust in you and allow others to see our belief in You in action. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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