Acts 27:13-38
So Paul and a couple hundred other people are on the ship headed to Rome and a big storm hits--and I do mean BIG. Did you notice the way Luke describes this event? He says the ship and passengers were "violently storm-tossed." describes how they had to throw cargo and tackle overboard just to stay afloat and tells us that "all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned." No question about it, this was a scary, life-threatening storm. And as conditions worsened and people's fear factors went through the roof, Paul was at his best. He was the ultimate encourager and basically held everyone together.
What are some practical things we can do to draw on and hold fast to God when the bad times hit and all we see are turmoil and chaos? How can we be an encourager to others who are in the middle of the storm with us? Tami W.
We might be inclined to look at this story and focus on the miraculous way the people were saved. But, to some of those involved, it may have still seemed like a tragedy. All the cargo was lost and the ship went down. Paul was wise to be honest with the passengers and crew. He encouraged them in a way that gave them strength to get through the immediate turmoil.
We can do the same. We need to be careful not to over promise an outcome, but to assure people that there is an end to their turmoil and God will be with them as they work their way through it. This is specifically true for believers. For non-believers I think we can also gently suggest that God wants them to rely on His strength during the tough times.
We are instructed to keep our eyes (heart) on the goal The turmoil and chaos is often a warning to STOP & LISTEN TO THE LORD'S DIRECTION. Don't try to minipulate the situation but pray and wait for His perfect timing!
I have been encouraged by others that have been through trials but have anchored themselves in the promises of Christ, knowing that "Joy Comes in the Morning". If we do this our lives will stand as a monument to our Redeemer!
I try to be that person. I still worry about things. But I look back and remind others that God has led us through this far. He is always with us and will use all things for good. I does help me to focus more on trusting God which is not easy for this "control freak" but I am learning slowly but surely.
An elderly saint I knew growing up [now has passed on to glory] gave me this bit of advice one day, "Whenever you're facing a situation that seems impossible - "Plead the Blood of Christ". Great advice!, has helped me through many tough times!
Paul kept worshiping God during this storm and encouraging others. I think that is what we need to do as well - keep looking up to God, worship Him, and encourage others. If we look at the circumstances we will drown, and take others with us. If we look up, we remember that God knows all about it, and He is bigger than anything we are going through. Our mission on earth is to draw others to God. Like it or not, people are watching how we react to our difficulties. So, I encourage us all to choose God.
As one going through the storm of live, there seem to be no end to the storms at this time. All is black from a human perspective. I wish I could say that God spoke to me personal and that all is well, but God has chosen to wait to answer my prays. Now I could say that God doesn't care, or I could in faith say that God is working without my understanding to bless me somehow. Paul had a promise, which he would stand before Caesar, I have the promise that God will never leave me. So even throughout the storms of life, God is there to help. It doesn’t always come the way I wish, but our God knows what best for me and for you. You must keep the faith and look toward Jesus for the answers, the answer will come in God timing.
All your comments are encouraging and all I have to add is that with God all things are possible so trust in Him always through the good times and even moreso through the bad times. Revisit scriptures like this one for today. Read about Gideon and the 300 men. Read King Hezekiah and Daniel's prayer and call on the name of our Lord. He wants to help so we should allow Him to do so. Remember He knows everything.
Tami's question mentions "practical" things. I think this is an area that many times gets overlooked by Christians who choose to give advice. While prayer, meditation and Bible reading are of utmost importance in getting through rough times, this type of advice when a person is in the middle of a storm can come across at the standard "churchy" advice.
Not only does Paul keep the focus on God, he also gives practical advice- "stay in the boat", "I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength". As Christians, let's keep God first, but realize that God also expects us to use the knowledge and tools he has given us to help out those in need.
I agree completely with RBM's statement that we need to be careful not to over promise. Very few of us have a Paul-like relationship with God that would allow us to accurately predict the outcome of a storm.
On a side note, I would be interested in what people think of RBM's comment, "For non-believers I think we can also gently suggest that God wants them to rely on His strength during the tough times." Can non-believers rely on God's strength, or are they on their own, so to speak?
I came upon your post from a Google Alert I set up on the phrase, "plead the blood". Many of the hits I get on my blog, www.roadrevelations.org, come from searches done on that phrase. I thought you may be interested in reading what God showed me about pleading the blood over your family. I do this every morning. Check it out at: roadrevelations.org/?m=200601 and scroll down toward the bottom of the page. Be blessed!
Bill
I feel as though I am in a storm and sometimes so alone. Being an employee of where I have been employed for the past seven years and fearing that my position could be pulled from under me for an incident I did not do is troublesome. I do pray and listening to the series Postcards from Paul does help to provide me with inter strength. Ephesians 6 - The Armor of God is another part of scripture that I focus on. The next several days will determine if I continue to do what I have been doing for the past seven years or it will be God’s will for me to move on with a different career. Keeping faith is difficult at times like this what I am currently going through, but I must believe in God and allow his beloved son Jesus Christ to walk beside me and face my accusers head on and defined myself. Not an easy task but it wasn’t an easy task either for Paul when he was tried for teaching the message of Jesus.
I like Paul's boldness in declaring what God had told him to the people in charge of the ship. I also like verse 21; even Paul (like me) could not resist saying "I told you so". It's something I'm trying to stop doing but it's really hard! He also encouraged them by practical means - the crew needed to eat, so he led the way and prayed and ate himself. I think that by declaring God's promises to him and then by the centurion seeing them all come to pass, it gave that centurion courage to carry through with Paul's instructions.
I find that when someone comes to me with problems, the most important thing I can do at first is just to listen, then to pray with them or at least for them, reminding them of God's promises (which they probably already know). When the storm breaks over my head, I tend to forget all the stuff I know about God. Since it helps me to have someone remind me of God's love, faithfulness and promises within the trial, I try to do that for others where it's appropriate.