Have you ever felt like you, your family or your church were a ship in the middle of a storm that was about to be swallowed up by the waves and violent winds? I can relate, too. Paul can relate as well. As he was near- ing the end of his ministry, he could see all the churches he had built assailed by storms of division, false prophets, weak doctrines, licentious- ness, legalism, selfishness, power struggles and temptations of every kind. It must have been an awful burden for him. Now, on his way to Rome, his life and all the others on that ship hung by a thread as, physi- cally, the ship seemed to be completely lost and their hopes of surviving were shuttered. But with the gospel and the Spirit unshackled in his heart, what does the elderly, physically frail apostle do? He takes hold of the revelation given to him that he will not be lost and that all of the people on the ship would be saved. He encourages those who wanted to kill him and those who also wanted to leave the ship, giving them direc- tions that, quite literally, saved their lives. So with us, in the moments of hardest trial, when the burden is heaviest and all seems lost, when it seems as if the ship is about to fall, may we hold on by faith to God and intercede on behalf of all those who are with us. May we not disengage from the work the Spirit is doing in our hearts, in our families and on this campus. May we not try to abandon ship, for the Lord is our Captain and He will surely see us through the storm. Welcome to Campion.
