Acts 27: 13-44
Saturday, 12 December 2020
“And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you …….., not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.” Acts 27: 22 & 34
In Jerusalem Paul was arrested and accused of violating the sacred grounds of the Temple (Acts 21:27 –36). He was saved from being beaten to death when the Roman tribune intervened and brought him to the jail. In defending himself Paul claimed his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar. He was then sent to Rome to have his case resolved.
On his journey to Rome by sea, Paul had to face a fierce storm. They had lost all hope of being saved (V. 20) and thought they would perish in the sea. Amidst this danger, Paul brought a ray of light. He urges everyone to keep up their courage, promising that there would be no loss of life among them (V. 22). Again in verse 33 we read of Paul encouraging them to take some food as they had gone without food for 14 days. Paul’s encouragement and example brought reassurance to all of them- they too ate some food (V. 36).
One man’s encouraging words encouraged 276 people trapped in the middle of the sea in the big storm. How wonderful! Only the one who is encouraged by God can encourage others. If you are very sure that the Almighty God is with you, the life threatening situation will not affect you, instead you will be strengthened by Him. Paul was very sure that he belonged to God and God never forgets those who belong to Him and serve Him. Do you have this assurance that you belong to God? In order to have this assurance we need to abide in Him. Look at the following Scriptures:
Rom 8:9 says that if the Spirit of God dwells in you, you are His.
Gal 5:24 says if you have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires you belong to Him.
1Cor 6:19 says that we belong to the One who bought us with a price.
Thus all those who believe the Word of God and obey them belong to Him and if you are His, He is ever present to encourage you in all your weakness and troubles.
There is a beautiful quote by someone: “Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Everybody needs encouragement at some point of their life. When we are going through a storm, our natural tendency is to focus on ourselves and forget about others. But Paul didn’t do that. He didn’t keep God’s encouragement to himself. He shared it with everyone on board and repeatedly encouraged them to take courage as God had promised Paul that none would perish.
Dear brethren, let’s pass on the encouragement received from our dear Lord Jesus to others as well. We can pass it on,
By praying for them
By telling them of God’s greatness and power to deliver from any sort of storms of life
Encouragement can significantly change a person’s life. We all tend to get distressed from time to time due to many reasons and need cheering up. How comforting it would be to know that not a hair will fall from our head without God’s knowledge. May God use those storm in your life to reveal Jesus Christ to your friends in need. Let’s not miss the opportunity to encourage!
Think on it: “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24
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