Devotion - Thursday, November 13

In Acts 27, Paul is on a boat, bound for Rome.  He has appeared before Agrippa, and asked to be tried before Caesar.  The boat sails late in the year.  Too late.  They encounter bad weather and it becomes obvious they will not make land.

Paul steps into command; sharing the assurance he has from God that so long as everyone remains on the boat and of one mind, no one will be lost.

Toward the end of Chapter 27, the boat runs aground and breaks up.  Then comes a line which served as the text for a sermon I heard at a local Baptist Church.  Those who could swim, jumped clear of the boat and made for shore.  Those who could not swim waiting for the ship to break into pieces, then grabbed a plank and held on.  

The preacher admitted that he could not swim.  He then shared his emotions at reading this passage and knowing that he would be one of those who had to watch the others swim to safety, while he waited and watched and hoped.  

Too often it seems as if everyone else can swim; that they are moving through life and facing obstacles with a fuller set of skills or tools.  Too often it seems as if we are the one who has to wait and watch and hope.  Waiting and watching and hoping are scary.  Especially when the ship is breaking apart all around us.

They all make it.  They listened to the word from God.  And not a one of them was lost.  They went through a horrible ordeal; but they were saved.

This is what I am remembering this day.  This is what I remember every day.  And this is the story I repeat every time there is a ship breaking apart and a deep fear coming over us.  It may be naive or too simple, but it enables me to wait and watch and hope.  And my hope does not break apart.