All of us inevitably face dark, stormy times in life. We all have seasons when it seems like nothing is going right and there is a loss of direction.
Maybe that’s where you are today. Maybe you feel like you’re in the dark being buffeted by a storm. Perhaps you’ve given up hope of things ever changing and your situation ever getting better.
Today I want to encourage you…no matter what you face: Don’t give up because there is hope and help coming your way.
Acts 27 gives the account of the intense storm and shipwreck Paul experienced on his way to Rome. If ever there was a time that looked dark and hopeless, it was then!
Yet God, once again, proved faithful, bringing hope and deliverance into the midst of a terrible situation.
The heart of this story is captured in Acts 27:21-26, which tells us:
But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 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.”
In the midst of a raging storm when everyone had given up hope, Paul stood firm and said, “Hey, be of good courage. Take heart!”
Why? Because they had a very experienced captain? No. Because they had a really sturdy ship? No. Because they had a lot of clever people on board who could come up with a way to get out of their dilemma? No.
Paul told the crew to be of good courage and to take heart because God had said something about their circumstance through an angel who appeared to him. And Paul received a promise that they would be rescued—a word that could be trusted!
Now, you might be thinking, Bayless, that really doesn’t encourage me that much. I mean, Paul had an angel appear to him and give him a promise from God. If I had an angelic appearance and a specific promise from God, I’d be encouraged too.
You’ve got something better than an angelic appearance, my friend. You have the written Word of God. A Word you can trust!
God’s Word is more sure than an angel appearing to you. It is more sure than you hearing the audible voice of God. As Jesus assures us in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
God’s Word is forever settled in heaven, and God has already said something about your circumstance in His Word. You can hang on to His promise, and it will get you through the storm. You can trust His Word.
God has given us a sure, solid foundation to build our lives upon. If you’re in a storm right now, find a promise in your Bible and anchor your hope upon it today.
