Living the life God intended

Hi how are you all? I am doing well and activities are increasing due to Christmas. I can’t believe that we are mid way through November. This year has certainly gone fast.

This week I want to look at Acts 27 and the story of Paul and the others becoming shipwrecked. Whilst I certainly haven’t been in this situation in the natural, I certainly have in my circumstances.

So let’s imagine we are on the ship with Paul. He told them not to go further in their journey because the conditions were now not right. It was bad weather season. Have you ever been in a situation where God says stop but we have decided to go anyway? We step out in our own strength and wonder why things go wrong. It’s not like God has left us but we have left God.

So what happened then in our story. They set sail and all was calm for a few days until the winds began to blow and get stronger. Sometimes we think we have gone the right path until something happens around us. The pressure gets too much, we are under stress or every time we turn around another bad report hits us.

Then the tempestuous wind begins to blow like it did in Paul’s story. What does tempestuous mean? In the natural and in Paul’s story, it means very stormy. But for us, there can be another meaning and that is “characterised by strong and turbulent or conflicting emotion” (Oxford dictionary). Doesn’t that ring true?

When we get into a place where our circumstances or situations get tough, it feels like our emotions are out of control. We get stressed, easily angered, easily annoyed and our mood is down. We feel like waves are crashing over us and there is no way out. We wonder how we have ended up here and our faith and trust in God can sometimes be hard to find

But what happened to Paul? In verse 21, he arose and told them what he had said. But he didn’t leave it there. Because in the middle of the storm, God was still with Paul. God didn’t rescue him out of it but brought him and all the others safely through it. And God is still the same today. He is with us. Let that get down into your heart today. You may not feel Him but God is still with you.

God spoke to Paul and told him of a rescue plan. You can read it in verses 24 to 26 and 31. God will also give us a rescue plan or a way out. But what I find interesting is that the very thing that was carrying them and being destroyed by the storm was the thing that carried them to shore. The ship was being destroyed but the planks were a life raft.

When we are going through a storm, the thing in our life that is appearing to be destroyed is actually our life raft in Gods rescue plan. Maybe you are going through a storm of sickness and part of your rescue plan is your testimony of how God healed you. Maybe you are going through a financial storm and the tithe that you give is Gods rescue plan to deliver you.

God has a purpose for the storm. He didn’t create it but will allow it to be used for His glory. Once Paul got to the island and rested, a healing ministry was started.

If you are going through a storm today, be encouraged – God is with you and has a rescue plan. He is for you not against you.

Have a great week and keep living the life God intended for you.

Bless you

Karen