Hear God. Hang On. Believe. Look Ahead.

No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. But we will be shipwrecked on an island.” [Acts 27.21-26]

I can relate to Paul.

Perhaps not always in the right time and place, I feel compelled, in a difficult situation, to establish the reason why we are in whatever situation we are in. It seems prudent to me that all invoked need to understand what got us where we are.

Now, my wife and my children have probably never appreciated this character trait (flaw?) in me, but I can only hope they, like me, have learned valuable lessons in the midst of difficulty by understanding what brought the difficulty on.

Regardless, I can relate to Paul's need to point out the cause of the problem as part of his offering a solution. 

In fact, Paul did have a solution. He wasn't just railing on everyone without some introspect of his own! Paul was praying. God responded by commissioning an angel to reassure Paul that he would indeed stand before Caesar and that, as a bonus,  he would have a testimony of grace to the crew in their being saved as well.

Was Paul worried? I am guessing some alternative outcomes did pass through Paul's mind. But the story we have is that Paul remained focused during the entire ordeal. Paul prayed. Paul listened. Paul acted.

If we didn't know all the story, it would be tempting to conclude that Paul was in charge of the situation. It would be easy, for a moment, to forget that Paul was a prisoner being transported to Rome (in the process of his demise) and think he was on a mission to somewhere and had every intention of going there!

I know I have personally given Paul the "third degree" many times over the years of my studying his life and ministry, but, I must say here and now, Paul had resolve! God's will would be done and Paul was going to see to it! As incredible a storm as Paul was in, he remained true to the direction God had him going.

We never get any idea that Paul ever thought that through this terrible and dangerous ordeal that he might get a chance to escape. It is like Paul was, in fact, still on mission - even in chains, Paul was still a missionary and had something to say!

It does come back to that, doesn't it? It comes back to understanding what God has said to us specifically and sticking with it. 

God had told Paul he would go to Rome.

What has God told you? What has God told me? If "nothing" is the answer, then it is high time we get direction from God. The Word and prayer provide the incubation for this. Then, when God has spoken specific direction to us, it is time to hang on, believe, and look ahead.

Hear God. Hang on. Believe. Look ahead.

Father, I am so glad You have graced us with Paul's story. I am so glad we are privy to some distinct character traits (flaws?) of the man, but also to his unshakable resolve to do Your will - to promote Your Kingdom (regardless of circumstance). Thank You.