We have been going through the book of Acts since the beginning of the summer, looking at the story of the early church that formed after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. We are almost done, and today we will be looking at the next to last chapter, chapter 27. The second half of Acts focuses mainly on Paul, a converted Jewish Pharisee who becomes the leading missionary of the early church, preaching the gospel to Jews and Gentiles all over the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, he also faces intense opposition everywhere he goes, and as a result, in ch. 27 he is on a ship with his friends Luke and Aristarchus, along with 273 other people, on his way to Rome as a prisoner to stand trial before Caesar, even though he is not guilty of any crime. In this chapter they experience a storm that threatens to destroy them, and I want to use this account to consider the storms we face in our lives and where God is in the midst of them.
I’m going to begin in v. 8, as much of Luke’s writing here reads like the original travel blog, as the ship makes its way through very windy weather.
Acts 27:8-44 - We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. 9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them, 10 "Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also." 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest. 13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster," swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.
