Acts 27: The Miracle Before the Miracle—I Believe God

In Acts 27, I want to take you to an event that I absolutely want to hear all the details about when I get to heaven. I've read this story many times, and every time I do, I find myself wishing I could have stood on that ship and watched it unfold. Its a "more than" Story! This is more than a story about a storm. It's more than a story about a shipwreck. It's a miracle before the miracle. The winds screamed. The waves towered like mountains.   Experienced sailors gave up hope. For days the passengers could not see the sun, moon, or stars. The ship groaned under the relentless pounding of hurricane-force winds. Every wave threatened to tear it apart. Death seemed certain. Yet in the middle of the darkness, one man stood with unshakable confidence. Not because the storm had ended. Not because the ship was safe. Not because he could see a way out. Paul had peace because God had spoken.   While everyone else was looking at the size of the storm,            Paul was looking at the size of his God.   Dear friend, that is the miracle before the miracle.   Before… ·         the rescue came the promise. ·         deliverance came faith. ·         the shipwreck came 3 powerful words: I BELIEVE GOD.   Let's climb aboard this battered ship  and watch what happens when a man who belongs to God chooses to trust Him in the middle of life's fiercest storm.   It was time for Paul to go to Italy. Julius, a centurion, was assigned to accompany him to Rome. Julius was kind to Paul. Paul was given permission to visit his friends while they were docked in Sidon.   In spite of all Julius' kindness, the journey was far from pleasant.   The winds refused to cooperate. The storm season was approaching. No one wanted to risk their ships trying to sail then. They needed to get to Fair Havens quickly and then on to Rome. They lost valuable sailing time, but finally they reached The Fair Havens much later than they had planned. "Sirs," Paul warned, "We must spend the winter here. I know in my Spirit that if we sail, this trip will be disastrous! There is danger in losing the ship and the goods, but more important our very lives."   "Oh, come now. Look at that sea. It doesn't look stormy to me. We've sailed through the worst of the storms and we're alive to tell it. Would I risk my ship, if I thought it was too late to sail?" The helmsman and the ship's owner agreed they should set sail immediately.   Instead of listening to Paul's godly warning, the centurion agreed with the ship's owner and the helmsman. The ship set sail on a glorious, balmy morning. A gentle breeze caught the sails, sending them on their way. The ship master relaxed on the gentle seas.   It wasn't long until  the sky began to grow dark. Quickly, the winds began to blow. A strong southeastern wind began to kick up the seas. These strong hurricane force winds beat the ocean into tall mountain-like waves. The ship was caught in the winds. The ship master tried to head straight into the wind, the safest place, but the ship was caught in the strong, hurricane force gales.   Like a toy boat, they were helpless. The wind drove the ship to the top of the waves and then it dropped to the bottom trough of the wave like a roller coaster without a track. The winds howled and the mountain-like waves crashed around them. The ship tossed up and down and back and forth on the churning sea.   They wrapped cables around the ship to keep it from breaking into pieces as the winds and waves pounded the ship. They tried everything to save the ship. They knew they were nearing sand bars and worried that they might crash on one. The winds continued to howl. They lightened the ship as much as they could, so they would ride higher in the water.   On the third day, the storm still blew. The waves crashed against the boat. They cast the ships tackling into the furious ocean. The violent storm continued. The thick, black clouds covered the sky day and night. For days no one had seen the light of day or even a star twinkling in the sky.   No one could eat. They were much too sea sick to stomach anything. Yet their stomachs ached with emptiness. Everyone feared that they would die in the terrible storm.   Here's the miracle before the miracle. Everyone except Paul, that is.   Standing in the ship, he yelled above the roar of the seas to his shipmates. "Fellows, you should have listened to me. We should have never left Crete.   Now, I want you to cheer-up. Although we will lose the ship, we will suffer no loss of life. An angel of God, TO WHOM I BELONG AND WHOM I SERVE CONTINUALLY, stood by me last night. He said `Fear not Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar.   Did you see that? Oh dear friend there are benefits that come with belonging to God. There are benefits for those that serve HIM continually! Please don't forget that. Let that confidence fill you when you are tempted to grumble, when you are tempted to skip reading the Word or obeying it.   There is no degree of self-confidence that compares to the confidence that comes when you KNOW YOU BELONG TO THE KING OF KINGS!     The angel told Paul,  "God hath given you all that sail with you.' Now, I want you fellows to cheer up. I BELIEVE GOD   I want you to know, it will happen just like the angel told me it would. This ship is gonna crash, but we're going to be cast onto an island." I BELIEVE GOD!   Do you realize what a game changer those 3 little words really are! Paul's confidence wasn't in His sailing skills. His confidence wasn't in the ship. It's so important for you to see Paul's confidence came from knowing one thing: I belong to God. And because he belonged to God, he could say: I BELIEVE GOD.   The storm continued to rage. But PAUL HAD PEACE. Peace while the storm was raging around him. I mean raging, this is the kind of storm that people die in, but Paul knew the outcome of this story...of this storm.   This storm was bigger than the boat they cowered in, but it was NOT BIGGER than the God that Paul trusted in!   DO YOU BELIEVE GOD?   Dear Father, thank you for the promise in Scripture that because we have been born into your family, we belong to you!!! Help us to serve you continually and trust you, really trust you so we can say and it really be true, I BELIEVE GOD. Thank you, Almighty God, you are bigger than any storm that rages around us. In the Precious Name of Jesus! Amen. Want To Be Stronger?   Join me every Saturday for faith-filled encouragement, inspiring articles, and helpful resources delivered right to your inbox. I'd love to connect with you! Or subscribe to this podcast on your favorite Podcast Provider.