Shipwreck journal (1)

A quick summary of Acts 27: Paul's been taken captive by the Roman Empire, and they're sailing him to Italy. On the way, Paul prophesies that the ship will go down in a storm. But the sailors don't listen, and so their ship gets wrecked. Let's see how Paul's sailor buddies deal with disaster.

Usually we react to a crisis like the sailors on Paul's ship: 'The wind struck the ship, and we could not sail against it. So we let the wind carry the ship' (Acts 27:15 CEV). One of the things that life's storms can do is make us drift. Because they didn't have compasses and the stars were blocked by the storm, the sailors were totally in the dark. Sometimes it's when the stars go out and our compass breaks that we feel how strong life's storms are. So, we drift too. We go where the waves carry us. We let our problems toss us back and forth. We're staggered by our problems instead of being staggered by the God we have.

But that's the time to do the opposite! It's what Paul did. He stayed in awe of God, knowing he'd get him through this crisis, as he'd done many times before.



So what now? What crisis are you facing right now? Read Acts 27:25 out loud: 'So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.' Take Paul's faith in his staggering, all-powerful God, and speak it to yourself. Keep it in mind, write it in your journal and believe it.





— SCRIPTURE —

'We let the wind carry the ship.' Acts 27:15 CEV
— SOULFOOD —

Zech 1-3, Mark 14:1-11, Ps 78:65-72, Pro 24:11-14