The Storms Of Life

vi. But, look what it turns into - a raging storm! A Typhoon. You get caught up in it. That’s how sin is. Everybody’s doing it. It always ends violently, viciously. Look what happens when you get caught in it, beloved -

vii. 15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.

viii. Literally, they let the ship be driven by the wind. That is what happens when sin gets loose in your life. It controls you, it drives you. You lose the power to fight against it, and you are tossed around by it. The ship was out of control. The sails didn’t work, the rudder didn’t work, they just had to buckle down and ride it out. Guys, sometimes, you have to ride it out because of the sin sown in your life. You have to wait for God to bring you through the storm. Let’s read on -

ix. 16 And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty.

x. They got a little break from an island called Clauda, and they secured the skiff. The skiff is the lifeboat. They were probably towing it, and now, they brought it up into the ship. They didn’t want to risk losing the lifeboat.

xi. Guys, if you are caught in sin, this is your lifeboat. Yep. Your Bible. This is God’s owner’s manual for your life, and when you get in a storm, because you’ve ignored that still small voice, and you’ve ignored godly counsel, go seek God. He will give you the comfort to make it through the storm. It may be difficult, but it is worth it.

xii. 17 When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven.

xiii. They used ropes and chains to strengthen the ship, because they were scared that they were going to run aground. This was the second worst thing to happen to a ship. First is sinking. Second, is running aground, because as we will see, if you run aground, the ship can be destroyed by the force of the waves.

xiv. They were far off course by this point. They were down near the Syrtis Sands, which were very near to Africa. I keep going back to this, but that’s how sin is as well, isn’t it? It blows us off course, way off course, far away from where we were originally headed, like Paul and his companions were here.

xv. 18 And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. 19 On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. 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.

xvi. They had lost all hope. This tells us how extreme the situation was for these guys. They started throwing things overboard. They threw cargo, and finally, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard. This was the stuff they used to drive the ship, and run the sails.

xvii. All they saw for many days was the storm. I want us to look at this passage, and learn a lesson from it. These guys didn’t listen to the godly counsel, they listened to the majority, and this is where they wound up, hopeless.