I have a message for you from God today.
God told me to tell all of you that…
YOU’RE GONNA MAKE IT!!!
YOU’RE GONNA MAKE IT THROUGH YOUR STORM!!!
It’s just a matter of TIME.
God wants to lift your spirits today.
God wants to raise your sights today.
God wants you to take heart.
YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH YOUR STORM.
It’s just a matter of TRUST.
“I feel like everything I depend on has been stripped away from me.”
These were the words of a dear friend to whom I was talking this week.
They could have just as well been the words of the Apostle Paul.
Imagine this.
You’re locked up in heavy chains wrapped around your wrists and ankles.
You’re a prisoner of the most terrible government in the world, the Roman Government.
You’re standing on a dock gazing up at the ship you are about to board when suddenly an awful sense of terror and fear washes over you like a wave of the sea.
You sense strongly that this voyage is going to end in disaster and loss of life if proceeded with.
You grab the shirt-tail of the Captain of the guard as he walks by.
He turns to you and you beg him not to set sail. You’ve had a premonition, you say, and believe that if they proceed as planned that all will be lost at sea, none will make back alive.
Just then the owner of the ship and others tell him not to listen to your silly premonitions, besides, what are you doing listening to a prisoner anyway, they ask him.
As you stand there pleading your case, it suddenly dawns on you for the first time, how out of your control you really are.
You’re in chains. You’re the prisoner. You have no pull, no influence. No authority. You’re not in charge. Someone else is in charge.
Instead of listening to you, the captain sets sail and goes to sea anyway.
You’ve not been at sea for very long when your worst fears become your worst nightmare.
The wind kicks up. The waves get higher and higher and begin crashing down upon your ship.
The ship that once looked so big now looks so small compared to the crashing waves.
The crew hauls the lifeboat on board from the side of the ship.
The crew takes cables and wraps them around the ships hull to keep the vessel from breaking apart from the waves.
You begin throwing supplies overboard to make the ship lighter and to keep it from sinking.
The skies are ominous.
Verse 20…
“Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.”
By the way, “How long have you been going through YOUR storm?”
For many days? For many weeks? For many months? For many years?
Isn’t it true that the longer a negative situation drags on the lower our hopes begin to sink.
Are you at that place today?
Have you lost all hope that you will be saved?
Have you given up?
Are you being tempted to give up?
What is going to be the difference between you giving up and you making it through your storm?
Well, I want you to notice what made the difference for Paul.
Verse 21 begins:
“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 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’.”
Let’s take first things first.
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A WAY THROUGH YOUR STORM OR JUST A WAY OUT?
How many times have you found yourself in the middle of a difficult circumstance saying to your self, “I just want out?”
If I could just get away from this person, If I could just get away from this job, if I could just get away from this church, If I could just get away from this responsibility…then things would improve.
One time, King David found himself in the middle of a difficult situation and he said in Psalm 55:6-8:
“So I said, ‘Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest’.”
I think we’ve all wanted out a time or two.
But aren’t there times when because of circumstances getting out or getting away just isn’t feasible?
Think about Paul.
Paul could not have gotten away if he’d wanted to.
He’s in a ship in the middle of the ocean, miles from dry land, with waves hundreds of feet high.
Sharks are swimming all around the boat waiting to devour those who fall overboard.
Friend, we just have to admit that there are times in life when we JUST CAN’T JUMP SHIP.
Leon Morris says:
“When the high seas are raging, it’s no time to change ships.”
Any way you look at it, you’ve either got to get through it or give up.
Because getting out isn’t an option.
But then neither is giving up.
Luke says in verse 21 that all hope of being saved had finally been given up.
Many of these people had given up. They quit.
Do you know why they quit? Because they were only looking for a way out.
What makes you give up when times get tough?
When you’ve looked and looked and looked for a way out but can’t seem to find one, you get discouraged.
So discouraged that many times we just give up.
However, if instead of looking for a way out, we had looked for a way through it then we would not have given up.
Paul stood before those hopeless sailors and gave a spiritual pep talk.
“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 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’.”
God told Paul, “You must be brought before Caesar…” and “you must run around on a certain island.”
God said, “You must go through it, Paul. Stop looking for a way out. You’re going to make it by going through it not trying to get out of it.”
We say, “But God I don’t want to go through it.”
And God says, “YOU MUST!”
Why does God not allow us to opt out of our storms in life?
Why are storms a required course in the Christian life?
Well, 3 Reasons:
1. Storms increase our faith in God.
Notice what Paul said during his pep talk in verse 23.
He recounts for these sailors how God sent an angel to deliver a message to him and to strengthen him during his storm.
Paul says:
“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…”
God gave Paul a promise regarding his personal storm.
God promised Paul that…
He would indeed appear before Caesar, which meant it wasn’t his time to die yet.
You see, until you fulfill the will and calling of God for your life, you are invincible.
You will not die one minute sooner than God decides, nor one minute later than God decides.
The safest place to be in this world is smack dab in the middle of God’s will.
I said the safest place to be but not necessarily the easiest.
Paul was “in the will of God” for his life.
He was doing exactly what God wanted him to do.
And yet God allowed a storm to come into Paul’s life?
Why? The answer is to build his faith in God.
Some of the most difficult storms you’ll ever encounter in your life may be while you are in the middle of God’s will.
We have a tendency to look at someone going through a hard time and say, “What stupid thing did you do to get your self into that?” or “What sin did you commit to get God so angry at you?”
When in reality, it’s quite possible that they’re doing exactly what God wants them to be doing.
God made a promise to Paul that he would not die but appear before Caesar.
At that point, Paul had a choice.
To believe or not to believe…that is the question.
Paul said, “I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.”
How about you?
Do you believe God? Do you believe God’s promises?
Promises like Philippians 4:19:
“And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Promises like Isaiah 43:2:
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.”
The key to this promise is that you have to pass through in order to get the promise.
God never promised you a way out of your storm, but he has promised you a way through it.
2. Storms build our faith that we are special to God.
By going through storms we come to see God not only as someone who is powerful enough and capable enough to take care of us, but as someone who is related to us personally.
We belong to him and we serve him.
Paul said in verse 23:
“For there stood by me this night an angel from the God to whom I belong and whom I serve…”
Paul recognized that he was adopted by God and a part of God’s family.
Paul belonged to God and God to Paul.
3. Storms build our faith in God’s goodness.
Sometimes, when a storm comes into our life, we question God’s goodness.
We wonder, “If God is really so good, how come he’s allowing such bad things to happen to me?”
In verse 24 Paul learned something about God.
He learned that God wasn’t trying to scare him he was trying to save him.
Verse 24 Paul recounts that the angel said, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must appear before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.”
God turned what could have been a massive tragedy into a great victory.
I like how one man put it.
“God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don’t understand.
When you don’t see His plan.
When you can’t trace His hand.
Trust His heart.”
YOU’RE GONNA MAKE IT AS LONG AS YOU LOOK FOR A WAY THROUGH AND NOT A WAY OUT.
Quitting, that’s looking for a way out.
Look for a way through.
HAVE YOU THANKED GOD YET IN YOUR STORM?
Have you learned to be thankful to God during the storms of life?
What do I mean?
I mean have you learned to look for the good in the bad?
There was much good that was happening to Paul at the same time that the bad was happening.
For example…
Paul’s storm provided him with the opportunity to get closer to God.
Storms usually do.
When a storm comes into a Christian’s life, the Christian has two choices.
They can PRAY or they can STRAY.
Praying draws you closer to God. Straying pushes you farther away from God.
Don’t you imagine that when that wind started whipping around and those waves started tossing that boat around like a rag-muffin that Paul did some praying?
I imagine he prayed hard, prayed earnestly.
And I personally believe that it was while Paul was praying that God sent the angel to appear to Paul and calm him down.
The angel told Paul not to be afraid, which tells me that Paul must have prayed with great anxiety and nervousness.
Wouldn’t you if you were in his shoes?
No body wants to drown or be eaten by sharks.
So Paul prayed.
And Paul’s own testimony is this:
“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…”
This was the sixth time that God had given the Apostle Paul a vision.
This was the sixth and final vision that is recorded in the book of Acts.
Can you imagine God either sending an angel or appearing to you Himself 6 times during your lifetime?
Would you say that was special?
Would you feel closer to God if He did that for you?
I don’t see how you couldn’t.
But if there had been no storm, perhaps God would have seen no reason to send the angel.
The storm provided Paul with yet another opportunity to draw closer to His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Is that how you see your storms? As an opportunity to draw closer to the Lord?
You have to admit that however bad a storm gets, if it causes you to get closer to God, then at least one good thing has come out of it, wouldn’t you agree?
For the sixth time in a crisis, Paul was reminded that God would stand by him through his storm.
And not only did God save Paul from death, but God also rescued the other 275 passengers that were on board as well.
Perhaps, while Paul was doing his praying, Paul asked the Lord if He would also save these men from drowning.
For the scripture says in verse 24:
“…and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.”
God granted Paul the lives of these men, perhaps in answer to Paul’s prayers.
Well, now that’s a good thing…that’s something Paul could be thankful for.
Have you found it to be true that God often uses our personal storms to benefit others around us?
Paul echoed this sentiment in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 when he said:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
God turns STORMS into PLATFORMS and allows us to use them to share our faith with others.
Paul had a wonderful platform from which to share about his faith in the one true God with these sailors and prisoners.
READ VERSES 33-36.
You can see that Paul was able to thank God even during his storm for the good things he did have.
The food for instance was a definite blessing to have.
If they didn’t die from drowning some of them would have died from starvation from not eating.
The difficulty in preparing food and preserving food, as well as seasickness had forced these sailors not to eat during the 2 weeks they were on the sea.
But God used Paul to lead these men back to health and nourishment.
God always provides nourishment during our storms.
He always meets our needs during our storms.
And we can be thankful for that.
And often the very same storm that hits us is the very same thing that helps us.
CONCLUSION
A shipwrecked man managed to reach an uninhabited island. There, to protect himself against the elements and to safeguard the few possessions he had salvaged, he painstakingly built a little hut from which he constantly and prayerfully scanned the horizon for the approach of a ship. Returning one evening after a search for food, he was terrified to find the hut completely enveloped in flames. Yet by divine mercy this hard affliction was changed into a mighty advantage. Early the following morning he awoke to find a ship anchored off the island. When the captain stepped ashore, he explained, ‘We saw your smoke signal and came.’ Everything the marooned man owned had to be destroyed before he could be rescued.
Do you feel like everything you depend on is being stripped away from you?
I have good news for you, “YOU’RE GONNA MAKE IT THROUGH YOUR STORM!”
