Blog

A ship full of men awaiting judgement, along with officers appointed to accompany them, crammed together as they set sail for Italy, disembarking from modern day Turkey, scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of Asia. The next day, they docked just long enough to allow provisions for essential needs to be made. Once the ship put out to sea again, it started to encounter very strong headwinds, making it difficult for the ship to stay on course. Because of this, it changed course slightly, heading north, between an island and the mainland.

The ship kept to the open sea until it was finally able to port. There, the officer in charge found a ship that was  headed toward Italy, and he moved all of the crew and prisoners over to the other ship, hoping for better luck on the journey.

For several days, they continued to encounter difficulty, despite the new ship. It was very slow sailing with winds pushing against them, making it very difficult for them to get where they wanted to be. The captain lead the ship along the sheltered coast of an island. Sailing had become very dangerous, and they lost a lot of time.

One of the prisoners, Paul, spoke up. He warned the officer in charge of the prisoners that he expected trouble if the ship continued its course. The officer in charge paid more attention to the captain and the ship’s owner, instead, ignoring the warning of Paul, and they continued to sail forward.

At first, a light wind began blowing from the south, and the sailors thought they could make it to their next destination without too much trouble. They pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore, to avoid any treacherous waters from the deep. The weather changed abruptly, though, and a “Northeaster” burst across the island and sent the ship out to sea. The sailors were unable to turn the ship into the wind, and they gave up before long, letting the ship run before the gale-force winds.

This treacherous environment continued. The next day, the crew began throwing cargo overboard. After two days, they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it into the sea. This storm continued to rage for many days. The men could not see the sun or the stars, and all hope was gone.

Out of fear of the unknown, the men on board had not eaten for many days. Everyone was exhausted, hungry, scared, and uncomfortable. After 14 nights of endurance, the sailors started to lose hope. They tried to abandon ship.

The prisoner, Paul, who had spoken up earlier, encouraged everyone to trust that God would get them safely to their next stop, if they would be obedient to what he was asking. God had sent a message that none of them would die, and that they would all arrive at their final destination in Italy, if they obeyed His commands to stay aboard. There were 276 men aboard! 276 very tired, very scared, very hungry men! Paul encouraged everyone to eat. After that, the crew lightened their ship by throwing the wheat overboard. Yikes! That had to have made them feel even more afraid. They did not know if they would survive this trip. Now, they did not know if they would even get more food before they died. If the waters did not kill them, starvation might.

The shipwrecked against a shoal, and it was beaten repeatedly by the treacherous waves. The ship began to break apart. The officer in charge of the prisoners listened to Paul this time, and he gave instructions for everyone aboard to swim or hold onto a piece of wood and go to the nearest shore.

This is not an excerpt from an exciting pirate story or a scene from a classic black-and-white movie. This is only part of Paul’s actual story. He was sent on that ship because he was wrongly accused. He had done no harm, but he was on trial, anyway. But, God‘s sovereignty is seen throughout Paul’s story, even these awful, scary parts. Along the way, many prisoners, ship crewman, islanders where the ship docked, and, ultimately, those in Italy were exposed to the gospel. In Acts 28:24, Paul wrote that “some were  persuaded by the things that he said, but others did not believe.” Sometimes, God delivers us from the storms in our lives, but sometimes he allows us to remain in that storm on purpose. Wherever he chooses to take us in life, he has a plan that is for our good and for the glory of the kingdom of God!