Monday: The Shipwreck
In his second intervention in the story, Paul assured all who were on board—276 people altogether (Acts 27:37)—that, though not everything would come out fine, there would be no casualties; only the ship would go down (Acts 27:22). Fourteen days later, the apostle’s words were fulfilled.
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Still under a terrible storm and with the ship completely adrift, the sailors sensed land was near, possibly because they could hear the noise of breakers (Acts 27:27). After a series of soundings, and fearing the ship would be driven against the rocks along the shore, they dropped four anchors from the back of the ship in order to reduce the speed; meanwhile, they desperately asked their gods for daylight to come (Acts 27:28-29).
Read Acts 27:30-44. What lessons are here for us in this story?
In the beginning of the journey, the centurion treated Paul well but had no reason to trust the apostle’s nautical judgment earlier in the trip. After two weeks, however, things were different. Paul had already gained the centurion’s respect with his prophetic intervention about the shipwreck (Acts 27:21-26), which was heading now to its fulfillment.
Paul urged the people on board to eat, otherwise they would not have the strength to swim and get ashore. Divine providence does not necessarily exempt us from doing what would normally be our duty. “Throughout this narrative a nice balance is maintained between God’s assurance of their safety and the efforts of the people involved to ensure it.”—David J. Williams, Acts (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), p. 438.
As morning approached, the sailors came in sight of land; it was a bay with a beach, where they decided to run the ship aground. The ship, however, never reached the beach. Instead, it struck a sandbar and ended up breaking apart by the force of the waves. The soldiers’ plan to kill the prisoners to prevent them from escaping was stopped by the centurion, mainly because of Paul. In the end, as God had promised, not a single life was lost.
| What should it say to us about the power of Paul’s witness, and his character, that in a desire to keep Paul alive, the soldiers were forbidden to kill any of the prisoners? |
God is wonderful. It is always worthy to be by Him. We forget that God is the owner of the future. He knows so much more than us. We should always let Him be “at the wheel” of our lives.
As in the story of Jonah, God is here showing Himself to those who may not have known Him. How many of those traveling with Paul will join him with Jesus under the Tree of Life? We’ll only know then if we are there with them. The Master of the weather doesn’t need to calm a storm to save lives, although He can, yet He knows the best means for winning the confidence of sinners in His power to save all who trust in Him. Can the Lord use us in every circumstance that comes our way?
Interesting lesson many are saved from the solders because of Paul’s presences i think as Christians or as Adventist Paul should be our examples and because of our presence in our communities many be saved
Paul saved the entire crew.
What is his reward?
The soldiers planned to kill all the prisoners including Paul.
God intervenes through the centurion.
When you are the child of god, God will intervene in mysteries ways.
How have you experienced God’s protection in your life?
Paul’s level of faith is amazing. He was willing to follow Christ everywhere in spite of the consequences. Of his sufferings he said, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God”, Acts 20:24.
I believe his missionary spirit was the secret behind the power of his witness.It is through obeying the great commission that we become changed and His will becomes ours. This is the work that the devil is desperate to hinder. As a result those who are working for Christ tend to face many challenges. But it is in these challenges that Christ fights for them and blesses them in a special way. It is also through these challenges that Christ’s voice is so clear that even gentile soldiers can hear it and survive.
When we surrender ourselves unreservedly to God we will find ourselves in a position closer to Him where the devil’s attacks cannot reach us. This is the kind of work that will free us from the cares and riches and pleasures of this life that coke the word, Like 8:14.
The fact that a single life was not lost as prophesied by Paul is amazing. But the important part for us to remember is, that salvation did not come in the absence of peril and discomfort. It was not a beautiful soft land. I just had one of those events in my life that at times, did not appear that it would end well at all. God came through despite my doubts and the financial peril we went through along the way. To God be the glory!