The Great Storm

“So take courage, men, for I believe God that it will happen just as He told me.” — Acts 27:25

At last Paul set sail for Rome. He was a prisoner, guarded by a Roman officer called Julius. Luke went with him, and so did his friend Aristarchus. They sailed on a big ship carrying grain, with 276 people on board.

It was late in the year, and the sailing season was nearly over. The winds were against them, and sailing was slow and dangerous. Paul warned them, “Men, I can see that this voyage will be a disaster, with great loss to the ship and its cargo, and our own lives too.” But the captain and the owner of the ship wanted to sail on to a better harbour for the winter. So they set off.

At first a gentle south wind began to blow, and they thought they would be fine. But soon a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down on them.

The ship was caught by the storm. It couldn’t turn into the wind, so they had to let it be driven along. The sailors wrapped ropes underneath the ship to hold it together. The next day they started throwing the cargo overboard. The day after, they threw the ship’s equipment over the side with their own hands.

For many days, they couldn’t see the sun or the stars. The storm kept raging. And at last everyone gave up hope of being saved.

Nobody had eaten for a long time.

Then Paul stood up in front of them.

“Men,” he said, “you should have listened to me and not sailed. But now I urge you to keep up your courage. Not one of you will lose your life. Only the ship will be lost. Last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood beside me. He said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And God has graciously given you the lives of everyone sailing with you.’

“So take courage, men! For I believe God, that it will happen just as He told me. But we will run aground on some island.”

Everyone else had lost hope. The sailors had lost hope. The soldiers had lost hope. The captain had lost hope.

But Paul believed God.

Paul wasn’t the captain of the ship. He was a prisoner! But in the middle of the storm, he was the one everyone needed to listen to, because he trusted God.

Paul didn’t say the storm would stop. He didn’t say everything would be easy. He said God had promised, and God would keep His promise.

Read it in your Bible: Acts 27:1–26

Dear God, when I am in a storm and everything seems hopeless, help me to believe you, like Paul did. Thank you that you always keep your promises. Amen.