Your Obedience Saves the People
"But now I tell you to cheer up because none of you will die. Only the ship will be lost.
Last night an angel came to me from the God I belong to and worship. The angel said, 'Paul, do not be afraid. You must stand before Caesar. And God has promised you that He will save the lives of everyone sailing with you.' So men, have courage. I trust in God that everything will happen as his angel told me."
(Acts 27: 22-25)
A passage that creates a big difference. 'The Storm', read in full from Acts 27: 13-26, brings forward an important lesson in the lives of many of us who have a greater calling from God. A calling to do His will, a calling to serve God and a calling to faithfully complete the task that God has given into our hands. There are challenges and obstacles as we wade through the waves, but that burning passion keeps us moving.
In the life of the apostle Paul, there was such a season of never ending stream of passion flowing out of him. The need to share the good news of Christ Jesus was making him move through even the most impossible circumstances. And as a result, there were times when he was beaten, chained and dragged towards the court of law to make this lamp of passion fade away. But none of these challenges, even in the worst human conditions of calamity, kept him away from the intimacy he enjoyed with God. Paul was one constant claimer of the resurrection of Jesus Christ even at the jaws of death, and he continued to run his race with the same pace until his last breath.
Here in this passage we have read above, we find Dr. Luke explaining to us the various kinds of challenges and difficulties that they had to face in his voyage with Paul. For the general public who have been following Paul's case, it was a common voyage of a person in the custody being transported to a higher level of listening, by own request (Paul had requested king Agrippa that Caesar had to hear his case: a privilege he enjoyed as a roman citizen). But, behind this journey, we know that God had a greater purpose in taking Paul to Rome. We already found Paul in the earlier chapter expressing his faith and passion to king Agrippa when the king questioned him saying "Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?" for which Paul replied "whether it is a short or a long time, I pray to God that not only you but every person listening to me today would be saved and be like me - except for these chains I have" (Acts 26: 29). And this is the strong belief that had an impact on Paul's actions - he was driven by passion and faith.
This voyage that had God's greater mission in the center was life-changing, indeed. Paul was on his way to meet Caesar and God's purpose was behind this mission through troubled waters. The wonderful truth to realize at the backdrop of this travel is to see the way in which one faithful servant's obedience to God's calling becomes a factor for the people around the person to be saved. It is a unique story of how, even in the most hopeless moment, a faithful servant's passion-driven ministry and obedience to God's call had saved the lives of those with him and led them towards safe grounds.
As the ship in which Paul was being transported with guard comes across the troubled waters because of the disturbance caused by the "northeaster" wind, there comes a moment when everyone in the ship, including the captain and the owner, give up hopes. The men in the ship tried throwing away the cargo and even the ship's equipment, and still they couldn't stand the test. They could not see the sun or the stars for many days while the storm was very bad and thus they lost all hopes of being saved. Moreover, they had gone without food for a long time. But Paul was strengthened by an angel sent from God and he shares the assurance with his travel mates.
After expressing his regrets on the decision to take up the last part of this voyage even at the expense of his warning, he shares the assurance that he received from God through the angel and that message he shared has a lesson for us- the servants of God. This was the message from God. "Paul, do not be afraid. You must stand before Caesar. And God has promised you that He will save the lives of everyone sailing with you." What an assurance! Paul had to go to Rome; God wanted him to. And God had His own plan in sending Paul to Rome. God ensures that this burning passion with which Paul shares the good news is observed by the city of Rome, the highest authority in the political arena of that time. But one beautiful walk of faith of a God-driven servant saved the lives of those who traveled with.
A lot of times, in our life of ministering, we must be the ambassadors who keep the lamp of hope burning. Our faith should hold even through the last breath so that it would influence and profit the life of many others who travel with us. One humble prayer of a faithful servant, one obedient hearing of God's calling and one little step with faith and passion would be a life-saving boat for many others who are with us. Because God knew that Paul was facing the challenges for Christ's sake, He saved Paul's mission and the lives of the people who were in the boat. For Paul and his mission's sake, the rest of the people were saved!
I pray that all of us would begin to walk the faithful walk driven by the passion of the Holy Spirit and led by the burden of sharing God's name, even in the most difficult and dead-end situations. Not just our souls, but even the ones who are with us in the mission, in the same boat, would taste eternity, influenced by the obedience we had shown to God's calling.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
