Scripture:
Acts 27:23-25 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.
Observation:
During the fury of a violent storm, Paul hears from God, through an angel. Paul both belongs to God and he worships God. Paul not only listens but he believes the angel, who tells him that God will protect him and his shipmates and he must travel on to Rome. Paul has unwavering faith that this will happen even though they will shipwreck on an island.
Application:
Paul realizes step one that he is not his own but that he belongs to God. If I don’t understand that I was created by God to have a loving relationship with him I’m starting at the wrong take off point and will never completely understand the Gospel. Paul worships God for who he is and what he did to transform him from someone who persecuted the early church to an instrument to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles. I must recognize this truth of the transformation in my life and worship God accordingly. We have to listen to God and have faith in His plan to get us out of the storm(s) in our life. Nothing stopped Paul from spreading the Gospel, beatings, prison, and shipwreck. Sharing the Gospel needs to be a focused priority in my life regardless of cost.
Prayer:
Father,
Thank you for creating us to be in relationship with you and sending Jesus to allow us to be reconciled to you. Help me to recognize this and have the faith, focus to make it my life to share your love and Gospel.