Acts 27:13-20

Summary retelling of Acts 27:13-20

The winds appeared to be favorable for sailing, so the captain of the ship ordered the ship to sail on.  It wasn’t long before the ship was caught up in a northeaster – a strong storm common in the Mediterranean Sea during this time of year.  The ship couldn’t stand up to the winds, so they had to let the winds drive the ship along.  The sailors were able to pull up the ship’s “boat” – a small craft used to sail in an out of harbors to determine if it was worth it for the big ship to try and sail into the harbor to sell its goods.  The sailors also ran ropes and chains around the ship’s hull to help try and keep it together.  To keep from hitting bottom in the rough seas, they began tossing all the heavy gear and cargo off of the boat.  The storm lasted for several days.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Immediately after disregarding Paul’s advice, the conditions look favorable.  However, things quickly turn bad.  This is often the pattern of sinful behavior.  We do the sin because it looks good.  It looks favorable.  But shortly after getting into sin it turns into something far less manageable and far less good for us.  Soon we find ourselves driven along by sin and no longer in the driver’s seat of our life.  Just as the ship found itself tossed about on the sea because they didn’t heed Paul’s spiritual advice, so we also find ourselves tossed about in sin when we don’t heed the spiritual advice of God’s Word.

Where can you find solid spiritual advice and support?  Are there people to whom you are confident in turning to help you walk according to God’s Word?

Second Thought:

The boat couldn’t stand up to the storm.  It was driven along.  There was nothing the sailors could do but endure the storm.  Sure, they can shore up the boat and hope the boat isn’t destroyed, but there was no way out of the storm until it passed.

How is this also an analogy to sin in our life?  Have you ever been in a position to not be able to escape the consequences of sin?  How does it feel to be in an inescapable set of consequences and know that you have to simply endure them?  What can we learn in those times?

Third Thought:

The sailors begin chucking tackle, gear and cargo overboard.  The sailors get unnecessary stuff out of their life.  They determine what they need to survive and see how the rest of it is ultimately expendable.

How does this relate to our storms of life?  What things do you have in your life that you think is necessary but in the midst of a storm could be deemed expendable?  Why do we tend to think of things that are expendable as though they are necessary until the storms of life come along?

Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 27:21-32