Acts 27:13-20

Just like Paul said…unfortunately for all of them, they were now caught in a dangerous storm that raged for many days. Paul had warned that trouble lay ahead—that there was potential for the loss of cargo, their ship, and even their lives—but the ship’s owner and captain had persuaded the Roman officer to continue farther up the coast to winter at Phoenix. Now we see them having to throw cargo overboard for their own safety as they were stuck in this tempest that eventually sapped the hope of even these hardened sailors.
But God! Paul still had a promise, and God was going to fulfill it.

Who hasn’t made mistakes in life? Who hasn’t had to suffer the consequences of those mistakes? The hope is that we learn from them. These men were about to get a lesson in the providence of God, and at just the right moment, Paul was going to speak up. There would, however, be much loss, as we shall see.

What is also interesting is that Paul wasn’t in this storm because of a bad decision he had made. He had warned them! He was suffering the consequences of someone else’s bad decision. There is a great difference between being in a storm because you disobeyed God and being in a storm because someone else did—but either way, God is still able to accomplish His purposes. Their bad decision could not cancel God’s promise to Paul.

This reminds me of Jonah, who was given a message from God for the Ninevites. It appears Jonah didn’t particularly like the Ninevites, and he decidedly went in the opposite direction, thinking he could run from God. God found him on a boat headed to Tarshish, and similar to Paul’s circumstances, they encountered a terrible storm.

Jonah, knowing it was all his fault, told them to throw him overboard and the tempest would stop. Jonah probably thought he was going to die, but God had a purpose for him, so God arranged for a great fish to swallow him and ultimately deliver him to shore. From inside that fish, Jonah cried out to God—and God heard him.

There is an interesting contrast between these two storms. Jonah was in a storm because he was running from God’s will; Paul was in a storm while walking in God’s will. We should never automatically assume that a storm means we have done something wrong. Sometimes our own choices put us there; sometimes the choices of others put us there; and sometimes storms are simply part of the journey. What matters is that God is still God in the midst of them.

The moral of Jonah’s story is pretty simple: first, when God speaks—listen; secondly, don’t run from God; and thirdly, when you realize you are wrong, don’t waste any time getting it right!

And from Paul we learn something equally important: when God has given you a promise, even the bad decisions of others cannot prevent Him from fulfilling it.

For now, we will leave Paul in this predicament and find out tomorrow what happens to him…unless you want to read ahead :)