Inevitable Shipwrecks

Day 192: Acts 27:21-44

“For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.” - Acts‬ ‭27:23-26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

What is it going to take to get you from here to there? Will it help to promise that nothing bad will happen to you or your family? What about the affirmation that you are fine just the way you are (no growth needed)? Both of these are not helpful. They sound good but don’t translate well when real-life goes sideways.

God gave Paul the assurance that he, and everyone on the boat, needed to hear. They needed to know that they would survive; that they would make it. Jesus will always give us what we need to accomplish what He's asked us to do (see 2 Thessalonians 1:11).

But here’s the hard part of the assurance: They were still going to run aground. A shipwreck was still going to happen. There was no easy way.

In life, it seems that (in this fallen world) all the worthwhile things God calls us toward are difficult, not easy. Yet still, God will see us through, and it will have a positive effect on many.

"This speech is, in character and rhetorical function, quite the opposite to what we find in the literary speeches during this time period. In those speeches the message is about the danger of the situation and preparation for impending doom. Here the message is one of hope in the midst of despair. - Witherington, B., III. (1998). The Acts of the Apostles (p. 767)