These ideas come from Acts 27. (Click the link to read it.)
Let me set the scene briefly, Paul has been arrested for preaching the gospel. He is thrown in jail and held there for over two years. He is called before Felix, Festus, and then Agrippa. He gives his testimony to all of these men. He uses his Roman citizenship and asks to be sent to see Caesar. Upon making this appeal, he has to be sent to Rome.
Now we are at chapter 27. Paul has to travel to Rome by ship. He was on a freighter boat crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Paul warned the captain of the ship that they were heading out too late in the season. The boats didn’t maneuver well and depended upon the winds to take them where they needed to go.
The captain ignores Paul’s warning and goes any way. The boat was caught in a terrible wind. It was tossed around by these hurricane force winds and everything on the boat was lost. There was no food and the people were sure they were going to die. For two weeks this went on. Eventually they were shipwrecked on the island of Malta.
Looking at how Paul handled things in chapter 27, I find that Paul stayed calm through this terrible situation.
He didn’t get mad or blame the captain for sailing against his advice. He looked out for the people on the ship. He didn’t dwell on the past or use an “I told you so” attitude.
He was able to look at their situation, evaluate it, and make a decision. He stayed calm, positive, and level-headed through the whole thing.
He listened to the Lord’s direction and then gave those directions to the people.
He must have already won the respect of the others because when he started giving directions, they did what he said.
He encouraged the people on the boat. They were all terrified that they were going to die.
He looked out for the group’s safety. He warned them about trouble ahead.
He believed God through the entire ordeal.
If we really think about these things, there’s a lot we can learn from Paul and how he handled this situation.
Have a good weekend.
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