Reflections…

Acts 27 gives an account of when Apostle Paul was in route to Rome and at sea with a band of prisoners, soldiers and a centurion guard named Augustan.

In verse 2 it says, “So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia…” The word Adramyttium interestingly in the Greek means “I shall abide in death (G98).” As time went on, the centurion ended up putting everyone onto another ship, that was headed to Italy. As they neared their destination, the waters became more turbulent and treacherous.

Paul advised the men on the ship that disaster was coming in the form of a shipwreck, and that there would-be loss of life. The men ignored Paul’s warning. It states the centurion was “more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul.” (verse 11). What a huge mistake. Paul in this moment represented a type and shadow of God. How often are we persuaded by others to not listen to the voice of our Heavenly Father because of fear of man..?

When we ignore God, the end result is always disaster.

It says in verse 12, “And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also…” They were on one accord, in disobedience. Corporate agreement does not automatically mean something is right.

but here’s the deception.

in verse 13, it says, “When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete.”

As they were in corporate disobedience, minus Paul, everything appeared in their eyes, to be going right. A soft, gentle breeze blew, and I am sure the men on the ship felt they were in the clear. This was the calm before the storm. Scripture says, pride comes before destruction and God usually gives us some type of warning beforehand. Sometimes you will hear people say, the devil blesses people, too. In this situation, I believe it was the enemy who brought the soft wind under the guise of deception. Bringing this closer to home, we ourselves can be in disobedience to God, but on the surface, it seems like things are fine. Father, let me never be in this place, but let me be convicted and repent, immediately.

That is a scary place to be in. When you think you are in God’s will, are you are not. How many times have we as believers done wrong, but because of the mercy and grace of God, He has held back allowing the enemy to wreak havoc in our lives or as Genesis 15:16 said, “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” The sins continue to pile up until eventually God’s hand of Judgement comes down. As long as we are out of God’s will, the enemy will send us “soft winds,” to keep us away from obeying God and carrying out His will. Soft winds to keep us distracted and lulled into a deep slumber.

In chapter 27, the winds went from soft to a violent northeast wind, or Euroclydon. Whatever the enemy presents to us is a lie and its temporary. If he can get us to act hastily, rush, be impatient and not be still he’s hooked us with his bait. The devil masquerades as an angel of light. As the men on the boat were tossed by the tempest, they had not seen no sun or stars for days. The wind and the waves were violent. Proverbs 19:3 says, “People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.” When we are outside of the will of God, things around us can seem unclear…confusing… (darkness). If we are being transparent, sometimes the storms we face in life are because of our own doing. Sometimes God will allow us to run ourselves into the ground where it seems all hope is lost before He steps in. I know before coming to know Him, I had run my life into the ground and God met me at my lowest point.

After the men on the boat went days without food, Paul stood up and told them they should have listen to him. God in His mercy gave the men a second chance to obey the words of Paul. This time, the centurion and the soldiers listened when Paul told them to stay on the ship and not try to escape. When they obeyed this time, verse 33 says, ” and as day was about to dawn.” After days of darkness, the Light began to shine. After weeks of being in darkness, and not eating food, Paul broke some bread (the bread of Life), encouraged the men and they ate.