“Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and
indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.”
(Acts 27:24)
Food For Thought… Paul was in a pickle—that was not usual for Paul. Because of his bold and uncompromising witness to faith in Christ, he had at times found himself in the middle of rioting crowds, in front of hostile courts, bound hand and foot in a stockade, and on the receiving end of a good old fashion stoning, just to name a few.
Now he was traveling by ship to Rome to stand trial before Caesar and make his case for Christianity. Due to some unfavorable winds, the going was slow and the season changed, and the ship got caught in a hurricane. Day-after-day the ship and its cargo, both human and goods, were at the mercy of this monster storm, and it became increasingly apparent that the ship was going to go down and they all were going to die.
Then we have these incredible words that the angel of the Lord spoke to Paul in the night: “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.”
Paul’s response was to take God at his word and encourage the fear stricken passengers, “Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.” (Acts 27:25-26)
Paul understood something that should give you and me great comfort and strength. He knew that he would not die a day sooner, nor live a day longer for that matter, until he had fulfilled God’s purpose for his life. God’s purpose was for Paul to preach the Gospel in Rome before the court of Caesar. A little hurricane was not going to prevent that!
God has a purpose for our lives, too, and nothing, except our willful rejection of his plan, will take us off course from the fulfillment of his Divine purpose for our lives. Not sickness, accidents, financial hardship, hostility, failure, rejection—not even death.
David wrote in Psalm 139:16, “Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” What that means is that God knows very well every one of your days even before they come to pass. He knows exactly how many you will have, and what each one will contain. He is the One in charge of you.
Take courage, my friend. Your life is in God’s hands. Nothing can happen to you except by permission of God. And the day of your death will not come a day sooner than your gracious Father will allow, and that will not be until his purpose for you in this life has been completed.
Then a new purpose will begin—and this time, it will never end!
Prayer… Father, how comforting to know that every one of my days has been planned out and ordained by you—even the one’s yet ahead. You know how many days have been allotted to me, and I will not die a day sooner than by what your plan allows. I will therefore live my days to the fullest and strive to fulfill your purposes in each one.
One More Thing… “We are never more safe, never have more reason to expect the Lord’s help, than when we are most sensible that we can do nothing without Him.” —John Newton
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