Ep 454 – Acts 27:1-20

Have you ever felt like giving up? If we're honest, all of us have had that experience. It comes with living in a fallen world. There are those times in life when we get the urge to throw in the towel, to quit. Sometimes it's because we simply run out of steam. We get tired. Other times, we find ourselves running short on hope. Things get so tough that we don't see any way out. Which drives us to abandon all hope of things getting better. In Acts 27:1-20, Luke recalls a story when Paul was being transported by ship from Caesarea to Rome. He was on his way to stand trial before the emperor. This was a God-ordained journey that was going to place Paul in the very heart of the Roman empire, providing him with a unique opportunity to share the gospel with the world's most powerful man: Caesar. But this trip, while sanctioned by God, was not going to turn out to be a Disney cruise. This voyage was marked by lousy weather complete with typhoon-strength winds and timber-breaking waves. And even the leather-skinned sailors on board the ship reached the point where they abandoned all hope of survival. But Paul was given a word from God letting him know that, in spite of the dire circumstances, all would end well and not a soul would be lost. This trip had God's hands all over it. Yes, they would still have to endure the winds and the waves. They would end up having to abandon ship. But each and every occupant of the ship, from the sailors and soldiers to the prisoners like Paul, were miraculously saved.