Paul's confidence in the Lord

I was reading Acts 27 this morning and was amazed by Paul's confidence in the Lord.

Paul is on this ship, he was a prisoner and they were setting off to Rome because Paul had appealed to Caesar. They are sailing at the wrong time of the year froms the sounds of it.

1And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, ...., we put to sea, .... 3The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us.

They sailed along for a while, going on different ships as needed. They came to "Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea." But it had been a long journey, it was getting late in the year, even the "Fast" was over. It was getting risky to continue the trip. They could have over-wintered.

Paul advised them, 10saying, "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." 11But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.

Most of the men didn't want to stay in that harbour, so they decided to take off to see if they could reach Phoenix, a harbour in Crete and over-winter there.

They started off in a gentle breeze which soon turned into a tempest. Eventually they started to throw goods overboard, which would light the load making the ship easier to handle. BUT to no avail. "When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned." The men all thought they were doomed.

But then....Paul stood up and told everyone that they should have listened to him but none-the-less he had been told by an angel of the Lord that no one would die. Only the ship would be lost. The angel told Paul "Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar."

As another day of their troubles dawned

Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34Therefore I urge you to take some food. It will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you."

And it happened just as the angel told Paul. They were shipwrecked by running aground an island. The sailors wanted to kill the prisoners but were prevented from doing so. All hands were saved....the sailors and the prisoners both.

Can you just see it? Paul trusted God. He trusted that the angel truly spoke the words of God to him. He told others what he knew. He kept reminding them.

I read these words and I stand convicted.

Paul knew that God was a God to be trusted. Even when it seemed improbable that things would turn out well, Paul trusted what he was told. He offered that same hope to all those around him. He worked to see God's will fulfilled.

I read this and I all I see is how often I fail at doing this same thing. I trust God, but I so often fail to let that trust be seen or heard. I hide behind my own petty assurances, or silence or whatevers. I must needs speak out more of the promises of God on my life. I must needs let people know that the God I serve is a God to be trusted. He is GOD!