In Peril at Sea

“Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 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.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” –Acts 27:23-26 (NIV. Read Acts 27:1-26)

In the port of Lycia, Paul, Luke, Aristarchus and Julius, the centurion in charge of the prisoner Paul, boarded another ship, an Alexandrian vessel bound for Italy.

The season of good sailing weather had already passed, and Paul warned them not to sail, but the centurion listened to the owner of the ship and its pilot rather than to Paul. Along the shore of Crete, sailing at first was smooth. But then a storm of hurricane force came. The ship was in great peril. They greatly feared they would wreck in the dangerous Syrtis Sands (on the coast of North Africa, known as the graveyard of many a ship). The crew had great difficulty rescuing and securing the life boat. They threw cargo overboard. For days there was no sun by day nor stars by night, nor did they have food. They were in great peril. They were tossed about too much to eat and probably endured severe seasickness. And then Paul stood in their midst, first reminding them that they should have taken his advice not to sail. But then he had better news. He told them an angel had appeared to him in the night and given him the encouraging message that no lives would be lost, even though they would run aground on some island.

In perspective, after the fact, and reading the story from Acts of Paul’s journey to Rome, we see how God’s purpose was accomplished. But sometimes in the midst of the storm, we have difficulty hanging onto the ultimate purpose. The main goal is to survive the present, to somehow ride through the storms and try to avoid shipwreck. Today, many calamities are striking. We wonder if the frequent hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods and other disasters are the “end times” events.

Are they not warnings to us that we should listen to God, take heed and return to Him? Paul told the ship’s masters they should have listened to him about sailing in perilous times. We, too, have warnings from the Word and from God’s chosen spokesmen. Even our own judgment puts warning signs up for us. When we are in peril on the sea of life, we, like Paul, should listen to the voice sent from God. The crew of Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s ship of long ago was terrified and wanted him to turn back, but that noted captain said, “I am as near to God at sea as ever I was by land.” And so God wants to be with each of us!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Friday, May 14, 2010