How to Weather the Storms of Life - Acts 27 - By Adrian Rogers
As you read this passage, use your imagination. You will taste the salt. You will feel the swell of this ship as it rises and falls on the billows. You will hear the wind as it moans and groans and screams and whimpers. You will see flashing fingers of lightening and hear booming claps of thunder. And you will see the stark terror on the faces of these mariners as they prepare to die.
I think God chose to set aside an entire Bible chapter to tell this story because life is like a voyage. The circumstances of life are like the weather. Sometimes we encounter the smooth sailing, sometimes storms. And many times we're caught in storms that aren't our fault. We haven't done anything wrong or brought danger upon ourselves. That's what happened to the apostle Paul. He was a prisoner being transported by ship from Caesarea to Rome. When the shipmasters made a choice contrary to the will of God, Paul found himself swept up in a hurricane.
These people had their reasons for going against God--five in fact. They were driven by compulsion, wanting to do something even if it's wrong. There was consultation, trusting expert opinions rather than the word of God spoken through Paul. They sought comfort, the easy way out. They decided by consensus, heeding the majority vote rather than the mind of God. And they chose against God based on circumstances, a seductive wind from the south.
Those are five sure ways to sink your ship as you go along the voyage of life. And it wasn't God's will for that ship to sail into the teeth of a storm. God didn't intend for Paul to be caught up in that storm. But, watch what God did for Paul because He will also do these things for you.
God guarded Paul from the storm. He also protected those sinners because there was a saint on board. God gladdened Paul in the storm. Paul stood on the deck with a big smile on his face because he understood what God was doing in the midst of the storm. And God guided Paul through the storm. God had a plan for Paul to testify before Caesar. His sovereign will wouldn't be undone.
Friend, that journey wasn't the will of God. Sinners chose to step out of the will of God, but that didn't stop the will of God. When God has a plan for your life, all hell can't stand against it.
(Postscript mine - I can't tell you how many times God has saved me from bad decisions. I really hate to admit that, but it's the truth. Thank You, Lord for saving me from myself.)
As you read this passage, use your imagination. You will taste the salt. You will feel the swell of this ship as it rises and falls on the billows. You will hear the wind as it moans and groans and screams and whimpers. You will see flashing fingers of lightening and hear booming claps of thunder. And you will see the stark terror on the faces of these mariners as they prepare to die.
I think God chose to set aside an entire Bible chapter to tell this story because life is like a voyage. The circumstances of life are like the weather. Sometimes we encounter the smooth sailing, sometimes storms. And many times we're caught in storms that aren't our fault. We haven't done anything wrong or brought danger upon ourselves. That's what happened to the apostle Paul. He was a prisoner being transported by ship from Caesarea to Rome. When the shipmasters made a choice contrary to the will of God, Paul found himself swept up in a hurricane.
These people had their reasons for going against God--five in fact. They were driven by compulsion, wanting to do something even if it's wrong. There was consultation, trusting expert opinions rather than the word of God spoken through Paul. They sought comfort, the easy way out. They decided by consensus, heeding the majority vote rather than the mind of God. And they chose against God based on circumstances, a seductive wind from the south.
Those are five sure ways to sink your ship as you go along the voyage of life. And it wasn't God's will for that ship to sail into the teeth of a storm. God didn't intend for Paul to be caught up in that storm. But, watch what God did for Paul because He will also do these things for you.
God guarded Paul from the storm. He also protected those sinners because there was a saint on board. God gladdened Paul in the storm. Paul stood on the deck with a big smile on his face because he understood what God was doing in the midst of the storm. And God guided Paul through the storm. God had a plan for Paul to testify before Caesar. His sovereign will wouldn't be undone.
Friend, that journey wasn't the will of God. Sinners chose to step out of the will of God, but that didn't stop the will of God. When God has a plan for your life, all hell can't stand against it.
(Postscript mine - I can't tell you how many times God has saved me from bad decisions. I really hate to admit that, but it's the truth. Thank You, Lord for saving me from myself.)
