In Acts 27, when Paul was on a boat headed to Italy to stand trial, the winds began to pick up. No matter what course they took or boat they were put on, they were faced with wind that hindered travel. Paul advised in verse 10, “Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only to ship and cargo, but to our own lives as well,” but they wouldn’t listen and kept traveling. Then the wind softened and those in charge thought they were good to keep going, instead they got caught up in a cyclone, a wind that most sailors feared because of the destruction it could cause.
They took measures to survive. They used cables to undergird the ship, to keep it from breaking apart. They sailed into the wind and gave up trying to sail the boat, to keep from crashing. They even tried to lighten the load by throwing the cargo and equipment overboard. It didn’t stop the storm. In fact, for days they didn’t see sun nor stars and hopelessness set in. Paul tells them, number one, you should have listened to me and number two, take courage because there will be no loss to life only to the ship but … but we must run aground on some island.
Run aground means shipwreck.
Paul knew he had the authority to declare these things because God had given Him the power just the night before. What does this mean for you? Two things.
1. You’re going to have to face the storm
2. You’re going to have to take a hit
BUT YOU WILL SURVIVE.
I don’t know what you’re facing, how strong the winds are, the many nights you haven’t seen the stars or the days you haven’t seen the sun. I don’t know why your storm has to be this hard or why you have to lose some stuff, but you will not lose your life. Yes, I know when the winds began to ease, you thought the storm was over but then they picked up again and this time it was worse.
Sister, brother; you will survive but you must take the hit.
How do I know you’ll survive? Because the same grace God gave Paul, sustained those around him. And I’m believing that this same grace is attached to my life and because you’re reading this, He’s giving it to you too. Yeah, God has given me the authority to declare to you that you will survive, so take courage. He has given me the authority to declare that this same grace is going to spare your life, but you can’t abandon the ship. The same grace is going to get you to dry land, but you can’t give up now.
You got grace covering you but you must weather the storm. Like Paul says in Acts 27:25, “So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.”
Lakisha, the Author 