WHEN ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!

Paul is entering the final chapters of his life when he sets sail for Rome in Acts 27. This was a voyage Paul wanted to make, but not this way! He had been arrested in Jerusalem and falsely accused of defiling the temple. As was his right as a Roman citizen, Paul eventually asked that his case be referred to Rome for final determination. And so, while Paul wanted to go to Rome to encourage the church there and to preach the Gospel and to possibly go on to evangelize Spain, this was not the way he had envisioned he would go—but he was going to Rome.

The journey begins in late summer and the travel, by ship, was slow. The ship had arrived at Crete, which is off the tip of Greece and about half way to Rome, when they entered into the “dangerous season.” The “dangerous season” is the rough weather season in the Mediterranean from mid-September to early November, all shipping was shut down from then until winter was over.

When they stopped to pick up supplies in Crete, Paul warned the Roman centurion that they were pushing their luck and it was his recommendation that they winter in Crete. The centurion did not listen to Paul and was persuaded by the ship owner and the captain to keep going. They continued on their way and disaster struck them in the form of a hurricane-like storm. I think it is important to note that Paul had no control over these circumstances; he had voiced his concern and it was rejected by others who were more concerned about schedules and monetary return than safety.

In Acts 27:14-19 we see a pattern of human attempts to find a “survival mechanism”. The hurricane-like storm hit with a fury and the boat and all aboard were in serious danger.

Vs.14—“we let her drive.” “We can ride this out; there is no use fighting it; if we are patient, everything will be OK!” How many times have we heard people say this? “The intensity of the situation was just too great for me to handle, so I saw no reason to resist!”

Vs.15—“the skiff”—a small boat that was too small to be of any practical use, it was like having life jackets for 20 people when 276 were needed.

Vs.17—“cables to under-gird the ship”—these are the self-help methods that are pushed at us for us to use and under-gird our lives when things are falling apart. The self-help section of the bookstore is full of this material. Primarily useful in making the authors rich, this is pop psychology that appeals to the “quick fix” desire in all of us. This is the “Dr. Phil” of the moment.

Vs.18—“they lightened the ship”—“Quick!” we say, “You need to repent of everything that you have not repented of.” And we quickly repent of everything we can think of, including eating too many Krispy Kreme donuts (that was a Freudian moment). We try to dump our excess baggage, feeling that our little secret sin has brought the disaster down on us.

Vs.19—“we threw the ships tackle overboard”—What gave a ship a profile, its own personality, was its rigging, its tackle. How often do we attack our own personality when things are going wrong? We make statements to ourselves like, “If only I weren’t so (you fill in the blank).” God made each of us as a “one-of-a-kind personality” so don’t try and dismantle it. Instead, try and re-channel it, with the Lord’s help, of course. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard, “If only I didn’t have this temper, can God take away my temper?” And the answer is no! If He did you would be ….nothing!

While all this was going on, Paul got alone with the Lord and God gave him a word for the crew and all the passengers…and here it is.

When hell is all around,

1. Don’t abandon the ship but quit the human attempts to turn the tables on hell. (Acts 27:31-32)

2. Don’t go into a survival mode that jeopardizes both your spiritual life and your physical wellbeing. “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food and eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival” (33-34). Not only are we to take nourishment for our physical bodies, but for our spiritual man as well—stay prayerful, stay in the Word, stay in fellowship, stay in the faith, and keep on worshiping.

3. They did what Paul instructed them to do, and not one of the 276 people on board was lost.

When all hell breaks loose we are encouraged to resist the temptation to go into a survival mode, to go and hide in a cave. We are to continue our daily walk with Him: worship, pray, read the Word, believe and trust. (This is the spiritual equivalence of “taking nourishment.”) When the hurricane of hell breaks loose and everything around you is flying in all directions, you are ready…because you are already doing the right things! Just keep doing what you have been doing!