Love & Purpose… even in the midst of the storm.

Have you ever known that you were right about something, but no one around you would listen? Have you ever felt like you were at the mercy of your circumstances and there was nothing you could do? Have you ever been under immense pressure, and felt like you were ready to explode?

How did you handle it? Did you manage well, or do you have some regrets?

I have not always handled these situations well. In my former life, I didn’t know how to properly manage great amounts of pressure. I was emotionally fragile, mentally and spiritually weak, and lacking in stability, character, and integrity.

During that time of life, when pain and deep wounds were the loudest voices in the room, any amount of increased pressure would spark a tempest.  I acted out in controlling behaviors, private rages, crying fits, slamming doors, banging my fists on tables, and using curse words in front of my husband and children. This would inevitably be followed by bouts of withdrawing into heaviness so I could sulk and nurse my wounds.

Those were ugly times, but the Lord set me free and I’m different now. Really and truly different, inside and out. I’m not perfect, of course. In myself, I am wonderfully imperfect and gloriously weak! But in Christ, I am whole and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4).

It’s not that I no longer doubt. It’s not that I now have perfect faith. I have dealt with fear all my life, and I still have to put it in its place even to this day! But two things I have learned, and they have made all the difference: I am loved, and I was created for a purpose (1 Peter 2:9).

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Paul was a prisoner (Acts 26-27). Though he was a disciple of Christ, and an Apostle of Apostles, his physical life was in the hands of worldly men, or so it would seem. Paul appeared to be at the mercy of his captors and circumstances, but in the end, we see that he clearly was not.  And neither are we. 

Paul’s times were in God’s hands (Psalm 31:15). No matter what was going on around him, no matter what others may have been saying or doing to him, Paul was a child of God, and he believed it through and through. 

When the time came, we set sail for Italy.

Acts 27:1

The Apostle Paul was to be tried before Caesar in Rome. If he had gone to trial in Jerusalem, they probably would’ve killed him. But Paul was a Roman citizen and had broken no laws, so he appealed to the highest court in the land. 

This was God’s direction for Paul’s life. This was just one of the many ways that Paul was to spread the Good News about Jesus.

This was Paul’s purpose.

Following the path set before him, he came up against some pretty rough odds, but there was no quit in him. He continued to move forward toward his God-given destination, toward fulfilling his purpose (Philippians 3:12-14, Paul’s words).

Paul was going to take this road all the way to the end, come hell or high water. And it was high water he ended up having to face!

“Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.”

Acts 27:10

Paul tried to tell them. He went to the ship’s officers to plead with them, but the ship’s captain and the owner disagreed, so on they sailed through perilous seas. 

What was Paul’s response?  Initially, when he saw that there was trouble ahead, he did the right thing. He went to those in charge and let them know. But when they disagreed with his information and chose their own path, he simply let it go and waited on God (Psalm 130:5-6).

We don’t have another recorded word from Paul until the violent storm he predicted had raged on for nearly fourteen days.  It was then that the Lord gave him the answer about how to save the entire crew, though the ship itself would be lost.

The Lord’s simple direction: stay on the boat and I will protect you. Jump ship and you will die (Acts 27:23-25,31).

Paul didn’t beg and plead to make people listen.  He didn’t demand his way, yelling and crying and calling them all idiots and fools.  He was silent… and I’m sure he was praying (1 Thess 5:16-18, Paul’s words). 

Why was he silent? Because Paul trusted God (Acts 27:25, Paul’s words). Paul knew that his life was not in the hands of the men around him. His life was not at the mercy of whatever circumstances were raging upon the earth in those days. Paul knew and believed that God was in control.  He lived his life by it.

How can we do the same? It all starts with love…

The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.

Acts 27:20

Paul’s captors tried fighting against the storm and flowing with the storm. They tied ropes around the hull of the boat in a last ditch effort to keep it together. They discarded cargo, and even tossed some of the ship’s gear overboard. In the end, they dropped anchor and prayed for daylight. 

Finally, at about midnight on the fourteenth night of the storm, when conditions were so severe that all signs of light were blotted out, Paul gathered the men, sat them down, and served them a meal. 

On a ship. 

During a typhoon. 

I can see Paul’s heart going out to them in this moment. Can you? Check out these verses…

“Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.”

Acts 27:21-22

“You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said. “Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.”

Acts 27:33-34

Look at Paul. He endured fourteen days of a life-threatening storm at the hand of his captors. He warned them this wasn’t the way to go, and they ignored him. But he didn’t fight for his own way, and he didn’t condemn them or curse them or wish them any harm! While the storm still raged outside, he prayed for them (1 Thess 5:17, Paul’s words), encouraged them, blessed them with God’s truth, and offered them food and comfort!

That was the Spirit of God working through Paul – the one who spent his past preaching religious bondage as a Pharisee and persecuting the followers of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:9, Paul’s words).

What made the change? Only Jesus.

In his old life, because of his old way of doing things, Paul deserved punishment, but God forgave him through Jesus Christ instead. Paul lived his old life in pursuit of perfection by following the law of sin and death, but God showed him the way of grace, the way of love (Romans 8).

Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus and changed his life in that moment (Acts 9). The Father handed Paul something real – love, grace, and purpose – and Paul was never the same again. He spent the rest of his life working to pass those truths on to the rest of mankind… and in the end, he accomplished His Father’s works.

Oh, that we might do the same in our own lives!

 So everyone escaped safely to shore.

Acts 27:44b

When we have followed our own way and found ourselves on rough seas, God is still with us. And when we cry out to Him, whether we are at the end of our rope, or we have just begun to fight, in His mercy, He acts (Psalm 18).

He does this because He loves us. We are loved. Completely and irrevocably. Let that be the foundation of your life. I used to “live rejected,” but now I “live loved,” and that has made all the difference!

When Paul put himself aside and provided strength and comfort for his captors, Paul was “living loved.” He was living out his sole purpose, which was to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Christ… even in the midst of the storm.

No matter what is coming up against you today, or in this season, just keep going. Maybe adjust your course… maybe strengthen your support system… maybe allow yourself to be encouraged from the inside out… but don’t quit. Don’t jump ship. Know that you are loved, and rest in the biblical fact that God has a purpose for your life (Ephesians 2:10).

Whether you know it or not… whether you see it or not… you are a fighter (Ephesians 6:10-13).  And in Christ, you have all the tools and support you need to get to the other side of these stormy seas (2 Peter 1:3). Keep your eyes on Him and you’ll do better than just get there.  Not a hair on your head will be harmed, and you will rise the victor.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39