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13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, 17 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid, they would run a-ground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.

33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

 

A classic example of a storm at sea and a shipwreck can be found in our devotion today. My family spent some time in northern Michigan on the great lakes for our family vacation a few years ago. One of the more interesting historical gleaning from this trip was learning about the cause of shipwrecks in the great lakes. Most wrecks happen because of the boat striking against rocks or debris that the sailors couldn't see. The second cause was because of storms that grow up particularly around November. The storms were known as the “gales of November” because the winds would change direction suddenly and without much warning leaving little time for the sailors to react.

 

I am quite certain that Paul was the most experienced sailor in our text today. Much like the gales of November in the Great Lakes, sailing was probably not advised much after October. Paul’s boat certainly didn’t have GPS, or likely even a compass! Two weeks go by as the crew (276 men) drifted along the Adriatic Sea. Our text ends by Paul addressing the men to take nourishment and throwing the remainder of food overboard.

I am reminded of the gospel story of Peter walking on water. If Peter kept his eyes focused on Jesus, he could walk amidst the raging sea. This is a powerful spiritual lesson to always keep my eyes focused on Christ. When I am anxious or concerned, I direct my attention to my focus on Jesus during the storms of life. Does it help keep me calm? You bet it does! When I allow my attention to be focused on God instead of the situation at hand, life always seems a lot more manageable. I invite you to do the same.

Let us pray: Lord, I pray that you direct my focus on you in the storms of my life. Keep my focus on your Son, my savior, Jesus. I pray for strength to do your will today and that you would still my heart and calm my mind. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pastor Steve Cauley

pastorsteve@livinglord.org

 

Prayer concern: Ask God to be present in the raging storms of life.