Storms - Pt 1

And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” (Acts 27:4-10 ESV).

Texas thunderstorms are very common in our part of the state this time of the year. In fact, our local news stations typically find it difficult to accurately predict the severity and size of the storms. They simply say that one is likely to erupt and advise us to be “weather aware.” That typically means they don’t know what’s really going to happen, so stay tuned and we’ll look out our window too! That happened again just last night (I’m actually writing this devotional Monday, June 24th). The day started hot and humid for our area; storms were predicted. However, when they blew in they came with a vengeance. The lightning was incredible and a strike must have hit a transformer nearby as all the electricity went out for a number of hours. That’s very unusual for our area. The utilities are underground and rarely affected. We haven’t had the storm candles out since we moved in three years ago. I’m not one to panic in weather. I’ve lived through major hurricanes, watched tornados spin overhead, and seen plenty of flash flooding. Standing at the French doors overlooking the neighborhood, watching the lightning last night, Mary said, “You’d better move away from the glass. That lightning is the striking kind.” That’s our expression for describing lightning that goes from sky to land violently. I found a picture of an old barn set in a prairie with a thunderstorm blowing in with lightning striking in the distance and I began to think of the storms of life. That took me to our reading today. After more than two years of waiting, the Apostle Paul was finally sailing for Rome. His whole life had led up to this moment. All of his training and experience had prepared him to preach the gospel before Caesar himself. But on the journey from Jerusalem to Rome, Paul faced one of the fiercest storms of his life. And the strength he needed did not come from a new promise, but an old one. A brief study of his experience will help us weather seasons in life when friends are far away, fair havens have faded from the horizon, we are storm-tossed at sea, and everything we need has been stripped away. Even if we appear like the old barn, weathered and old with age, we don’t need anything new. We merely need the eternally consistent grace of our God and Savior, Jesus!