Jettison the Cargo! Part I

I have come to appreciate more and more the illustrations we find in the scriptures that tell us so much about real life situations. Oh how His word is profitable! One of my favorites is found in the 27th Chapter of the Book of Acts where so many lessons can be learned. The focus of this article will be in verses 13-26.

Here we find the Apostle Paul on his way to Rome, a prisoner of Julius, a "centurion of the Augustan cohort". Having previously appeared before the Roman governors Felix and Festus, Paul had appealed his case to Caesar and was being taken there to bear His name. They had boarded an "Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy" and had come to port in a place called Fair Havens, which was near the city of Lasea. Having rejected the exhortation of Paul to remain at Fair Havens, Julius had chosen instead to listen to the advice of the "experts", the pilot and captain of the ship and sail on, despite the approaching of winter and unsafe sailing conditions. After all, they said that Fair Havens was "not suitable for wintering" at. I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to remind us that God's ways are often contrary to the ways and wisdom of men but they are always better! As we read in Proverbs 3:5, " Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding".

Well, you may remember the story, following their decision to sail on, there blew a "moderate south wind" that, in their mind, affirmed the decision they had made. As I previously cautioned in my article entitled, "Circumstances and a Moderate South Wind", we must be careful not to look to circumstances to affirm or negate our decisions and actions. God is bigger than our circumstances and His word of truth must be our guide and measure.

In this chapter we have a great picture of what it can be like for the child of God who has wandered from the faith and how it is that he may find his way back. Not long after the inviting "moderate south wind" blew, a "violent wind" had rushed down upon them. As so often is the case when we have gotten off the path of righteousness, we are not able to stand against the storms of life or the winds of the flesh and we may "give way to it and let ourselves be driven along." Oh, how fast we can be driven far from the place God would have us to be. How our sins can become like a snowball rolling down the hill, growing greater the further it progresses downward.

To often, if we have not confessed our sins to God and have gotten right with Him, we begin to look to ourselves and the world for answers. As the ship was driven along, they looked to benefit from the shelter of an island and they fought to secure the "ship's boat" or lifeboat. Unable to resist the driving wind, they let out sea anchors in their attempt to minimize the speed at which they were being driven along. These self-efforts seemed fruitless as the following day they found themselves "storm tossed". Have you been there? To lighten their load and give the ship greater buoyancy they began to "jettison the cargo" as they "threw the ship's tackle overboard". In the context of what they were doing, I'm convinced that they began with that which they believed they could best do without. When trying in our own strength, we too will start letting go of the things we feel we can do without first, not wanting to let go of the very things that may be in our way of getting right with Him.

Despite their efforts, their situation seemed to worsen. In verse 20 we see that the storm had gotten so bad that "neither sun nor stars appeared for many days". I have long appreciated the words "no small storm", that were used to describe such a storm as this. The storm was said to be assailing them. In part, I believe it was assailing their human efforts of survival and reliance. This assault was so great that "all hope of being saved was gradually abandoned". But this hopelessness would be used by God to teach a great lesson. It is quite probable that the Apostle Paul himself was counted amongst those struggling for hope. But His faithful Lord would intervene at the right time to give hope where there seemed to be none. He can do the same in your life and mine.

An angel of God appeared before Paul and told him to not be afraid. It would only make sense that Paul had found himself afraid. But from the context, I believe that Paul had addressed his fears through prayer. The angel assured Paul that he would stand before Caesar and that God had also "granted" him all those who were sailing with him. Could it be that in this very difficult time, Paul had been praying for the safety of each man on the boat? I believe so. After a brief "I told you so" regarding their decision to leave Fair Havens, Paul shared God's promise, as delivered to him by the angel, with the other men on the ship. In light of God's promise he urged them to keep up their courage, telling them that the ship would suffer loss but that there would be no loss of life.

I will end Part I of this article with Paul's words as recorded by Luke in verse 25. "I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told." This is a statement of great faith based on God's greater faithfulness. This truth is repeated throughout scripture. In 1 Thessalonians 5:24 Paul wrote, "Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass". In Hebrews 10:23 the author wrote, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful". And in 1 Corinthians 1:9 Paul declared, "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

Father, we have so many lessons to learn as we "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity". Thank you again for the promised Helper. Oh, how our minds need renewing. Thank you for your word, your mercy and your grace. And yes, thank you "that it will turn out exactly" as you have faithfully told us.