Friday, February 20, 2015

When all hope is lost

My Devotional Journal, Friday 2-20-15 (Home) 

Scripture reading:     Num 7           Ps 23        Acts 27

S.  Acts 27:20-23  The terrible storm raged unabated for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.  No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, "Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Fair Havens. You would have avoided all this injury and loss.  But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. NLT
O.  Who is in charge here?   There are 276 people aboard this ship.  We have an army officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment with several soldiers under his command.  We have the ship’s captain who had probably survived many storms and was supposed to know his stuff.  And we have an unknown number of passengers heading for Rome.  Oh yes, and let’s not forget the bad guys: several prisoners in the custody of the soldiers… one of them named Paul. This guy Paul had been around the block a few times, himself.  It wasn’t the first time he had boarded a ship.  Later, in one of his letters he supplies us with a list his experiences which includes three shipwrecks and 36 hours adrift at sea probably on a piece of wreckage.  (2 Cor 11:23-27)  So this prisoner had already survived two shipwrecks.

Captain Julius preferred the ship captain’s advice to Paul’s while temporarily docked in Fair Havens.  Now after 14 terrifying days, “at last all hope was gone.”  Everyone, Captain Julius, the soldiers, the ship captain, the sailors, the passengers, the prisoners… everyone except Paul were sure they were dead meat.  So “Prisoner Paul” takes charge.  He calls a meeting below deck.  The floor is tossing them from side to side as he speaks.  “Boys, good news!  Take heart!  Nobody is going to die in this storm.  An angel of God stood by me last night and told me what is going to happen.  So, here’s the deal.  You guys have hardly eaten a bite for two weeks.  Let’s have dinner.  Eat all you can and toss the rest.  The ship will go down, but soon we will all be safely on shore!”
What a difference a message from God can make!  The storm still raged.  Their ship was tossing and starting to break up.  They had lost all hope of survival.  Then God says to one of his messengers.  “You see that little ship down there in the Mediterranean Sea?  Take this message to my servant, Paul.” And now a ray of hope pierces their darkness.  “We are going to make it!”

Our first trip to Argentina was by ship, 21 days at sea, New Orleans to Buenos Aires.  Frances and I, with our three little boys happened to be seated at the table with the Chief Petty Officer during all meals.  He was second in charge of the vessel.  There were 275 passengers aboard (Hmm… kind of like Paul’s ship) including a missionary family heading for Brazil.  Setting out from Santos, Brazil we had gone from early summer to early winter.  Our friendly officer at our table filled us in with many details of our trip.  Our ship was on its next to final voyage.  He would be the captain in charge on its final voyage soon.  He explained that the steel hull has a certain life span and can break apart after something like 20 years.  He tells us now we are heading into stormy winter waters.  “You can expect rough seas. But there is nothing to worry about unless the ship starts to shudder violently.  In that case it could break in half.”  (TMI—Too Much Information!)  

Our cabin was right in the middle of the ship.  That very night we hit a heavy storm.  The vessel would rise high and then plunge way down.  Then about 2 AM I was awakened by the shuddering.  Each time now as we plunged down, the whole ship would shudder violently.  I could picture our ship breaking in two with us in the middle. Not a nice picture. I didn’t sleep too well that night, but nothing happened.  I am guessing that the shuddering was caused by the propellers in the stern being exposed as the prow of the ship tipped down.  I don’t know.  It was probably nothing to worry about, but I did some silent praying.  “Please Lord, I want to get to my mission field safely with my family.”   

P.  Lord God, Creator of the raging seas and driving winds, I’m sure glad You allowed be to be Your friend.  I can sit with Your Captain at my table and although the storm rages, He will say, “Cool it, boy!  You are going to make it okay!  Even if your ship shudders I will carry You to Your safe harbor.  I’ve got some neat plans for you when you get there.”  Oh Lord, I admit I have been fearful when I probably was not even in danger… and other times when I was in real danger, I was too ignorant to be fearful.  Thanks, Jesus, for being my intimate Friend.  I’ll sing it again, “What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!  What a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer!”  I read the last page of the book.  We’re going to make it!
Amen

Ralph




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