Shipwrecked

Paul was on his way to Rome to stand before Caesar. A prisoner.  He warned the ship's crew of impending danger. The warning was unheeded and the ship set sail., anyway.  Not long after, a (light) wind began blowing. Then, the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of (typhoon) strength tossed the ship back and forth. The sailors tied ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. Started throwing cargo overboard. Gear overboard.  Everything they could think of to save themselves. The terrible storm (raged) for days. The sun and stars were blotted out by the darkness of the storm. 

Until at last, all hope was gone. 

But then, an angel of God relaying a promise appeared to Paul. A message of hope and a promise of safety for the entire crew. Shipwreck was certain, but the promise would remain. All would make it out alive if they trusted God. And then, on the fourteenth night of the storm, fear took over the sailors, once again. They tried to abandon the ship; they made a plan. The plan was to lower the lifeboats as though they were putting out the anchors. It sounded perfectly sensible. A lifeboat is made for preserving lives. But Paul reminded them of what God said. He told them they would die unless they stayed aboard. They chose to give up the plan they made and trust. Trust against instinct. Trust against circumstances. Trust against what made sense in the moment. When the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat, what despair they must have felt. A last ditch effort to save themselves floated away, along with their last shred of hope. Sure enough, as the angel had told Paul, the ship ran aground too soon. The bow of the ship stuck fast, while the stern was repeatedly smashed by the force of the waves. And it began to break apart. I've been there before. A promise from God. More wind and waves than I could withstand. Feeling like I was drowning. Watching my last efforts to save myself and change my circumstances float away. 

The ship was lost. Everything on the ship was lost. But, not a single life was lost. The ones who were able to swim, jumped into the water and swam to shore. The others who could not swim, held on to planks and debris from the broken ship. But they still made it to shore. Just as God had promised. 

The storms of life sometimes rage. And sometimes I just try to keep my ship from falling apart. But hope is found in a promise. And promise is found in Christ. I may, indeed, be shipwrecked. But, no matter if I swim, or simply hold on to the planks and debris of life, the hope and promise is that I will make it to the shore if I trust Him.  Acts 26 & 27

Signed, Just a (Redeemed) Sojourner from Egypt