Chapter 27 of Acts recounts the events of Paul’s journey and as I prayed through what God was trying to teach me in and through this passage, one of the big concepts that came through from the chapter as a whole is the fact that God is absolutely, one hundred percent in control. Paul was on a ship that should have been destroyed and was a prisoner that was set to be killed, and yet he made it in one piece to the place where the ship landed. And, not only did he make it, he earned the respect of all the people on the boat as well. Again, God used what seemed to be a hopeless, tragic situation to bring about His plan and His good. He was in control and Paul wasn’t. He is in control and I am not. I constantly need to be reminded of that.
In verse 9 Paul tries to give warning to the centurion that things were going to go bad and the centurion ignores him and chooses to pay attention to the captain and the owner of the ship. Paul was just a lowly prisoner, why would anyone care to listen to him? Would I have listened to him if I was the Centurion? Probably not, I mean what would Paul know about weather and ships and the sort? While I have never been faced with a decision of whether or not to listen to an inmate or a captain, this section has caused me to think about whose opinion I value the most. Do I seek after and heed the advice of the person in a humble situation or a person that is not in a position of influence in my life, or do I always look to the “captain”? Now there is great merit in seeking advice and opinions from those in our lives that are of significant influence, those that know us, those that we can trust. But we shouldn’t just dismiss someone’s ideas and thoughts simply because of the position they are in. Maybe I have a Paul that I run into occasionally, who has great, Godly advice for me, but do I ever hear out what he has to say? I struggle some with a judgmental spirit, and while I don’t necessarily sit around pointing fingers at who is worse than me and who is better than me, it is evident who I am judging by whom I give my ear to. I need to seek after and accept Godly advice, as much as I can get from whomever I can get it from. I need to sit down with God’s Word and examine and test that advice, then seek after God’s direction through the Holy Spirit. If the centurion would have done that in this case maybe they wouldn’t have lost their ship!
The ship’s captain kept coming up with a plan of how things were going to work and was quickly reminded that he wasn’t in control, until finally the situation got pretty desperate. They were 2 weeks into the battle and all hope had been lost, when God comes and shines a light through Paul. Paul receives some instruction from an angel, and he stands up and shares it with everyone on board. Where Paul was ignored earlier on, people took note this time. It’s amazing what desperate times will do to people! We are strong and independent and can do things on our own until life falls apart, and that’s when we open up. That’s been the case in my life and in the lives of many around me, and I’ve seen over and over what God can and will do in those situations. It always makes me think, what would happen if I would just submit and depend on God from the beginning? How much easier would life be; how much better would life be if I would quit requiring desperate times to get me to draw close to God? I don’t know the answer to those questions because that’s not the life that I’ve been dealt, that’s not the path that God has walked me down, and I’m thankful for that.
I need to keep my eyes open for those around me that are going through tough times, because when things get desperate people get more receptive than normal, and I need to be prepared for that. God used Paul to shine light in the midst of a really tough situation, and God can use me to shine light in the midst of darkness today if I’ll let Him!
In the final section of this chapter, Paul’s life is spared because the centurion wanted him to be alive. I have a hard time believing this centurion isn’t becoming receptive to the call of God on his life. How could you be stuck around a guy displaying the faith and grace of God and not want what he had? I want people to want me around because I have something they don’t that they desperately want. Again, not for any vain motives, any selfish recognition, but purely to spread God’s love to others. I need to work harder to shine the light of Jesus in the darkness that is everywhere I look!
No comments:
Post a Comment