Acts 27:27-44

 Acts 27:27-44

God’s care, plan, and providence are by no means a promise we will not face trouble, struggle, and hardship. Sometimes that trouble is the result of our own doing; sometimes it is the result of those around us. God‘s plan was for Paul to speak in Rome to the emperor and there present the gospel message. God would see Paul through to that end. But just because Paul was ordained to make this presentation did not insulate him from the consequences of the decisions he or others would make. The shipwreck was going to be a miserable and terrifying experience, which was a consequence of the decision to sail from Fair Havens back in verse 13. Misery is sometimes a result of our own bad decisions; other times it is a result of the bad decisions of those around us. We can be doing exactly what we are called to do, and we can be in the right walk with God, and still be in a shipwreck figuratively or literally.

So why didn’t Paul perform a miracle and call the seas to calm down like Jesus did? Why didn’t Paul name and claim the storm away and replace it with a placid sea and a gentle breeze? God‘s providence uses all things, even storms, to His purpose and end. Hanging onto a tossing ship, exhausted, battered, and bruised was an opportunity for good to be accomplished. We have difficulty understanding hard times as beneficial, but they are. There are some things in our hearts that will never be extracted by any other means than hard times. We can never walk away from some distractions; so those distractions must be wrecked like a ship on a reef.

We must, contrary to our wishes, let go of control of circumstances. We like to think we control circumstances, but more often than not that ‘control’ isn’t really there. At best we have a delusion or an illusion of control. The control of history and events belongs to God. What belongs to us is duty. Results cannot be controlled; sometimes the results are far less than our efforts, and sometimes results are disproportionately large compared to our efforts. We don’t know if the seed will produce no tree, a weak tree, or a great tree. It is our duty to plant the seed. In this passage, we see no miracles; we see duty, and that choice is in our control.

“Lord, I surrender control to You, and ask You to help me be faithful in my duty. AMEN”

Acts 27:1-26

 Acts 27:1-26

Much of the life of a disciple is living life without the spectacular moments. In this passage we see no great sermons, we see no great dramatic conversions, we see no powerful miracles. Other than an angelic vision in verse 23 there is nothing out of what we might call the ordinary. The story of a ship caught in a storm could have and was repeated many times all over the Mediterranean. But the absence of the dramatic doesn’t mean the absence of God. Miracles are where God supersedes the laws of nature He created, in order to accomplish His purposes.  Providence is where God works within those same laws of nature to accomplish His purposes. Providence is no less wonderful than miracles, but it may seem less dramatic to us. In the mythology of pagan religions we might expect to see the ship in the storm picked up by Poseidon and flown through the air to its destination. For pagans the gods only worked in the dramatic, strange and supernatural ways. But we see God at work in the extremely ordinary events of a cargo ship at sea in a storm.

Most of our lives are not made up of the spectacular experiences that are most measurable. Most of our lives are made up of the exceedingly ordinary work orders and service calls, washing dishes and eating meals, traffic congestion and running errands. But because those moments are not supernatural dramatic moments doesn’t mean they are not filled with the grace and the supervision of God. God is working out “all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose”. Not all things are good some are bad not all things are dramatic some are ordinary but they are all under His control.

The challenge of discipleship is not found as often in the spectacular moment, event or miracle but rather in faithfully living out the challenge of “How do I honor, love, and serve God in this very ordinary moment?” In all likelihood I will not stand before the governor today, speak to a large crowd, or call fire down from heaven. But I will make phone calls, send text, talk to people and offer prayers to heaven and that is a moment to be a disciple.

“Lord, help  me be faithful in the ordinary moments of today. AMEN”