Acts 27
Paul was on the ship as a prisoner sailing to Italy with the Roman officials and other prisoners. 
The captain was determined to sail to their new location even though they were encountering bad weather – really bad weather! Well, actually, the storms didn’t come right away….Paul advised them to not continue the course, but the captain would not listen, therefore, they sailed right into the storm ahead. If you read the account, you will remember that because Paul saw an angel of God and received the word that no one would die, he was encouraged, but they had to stay on the boat and not jump ship or they would die. However, all their cargo and belongings were lost at sea. True to his word, all was lost except their lives and all prisoners were accounted for when they got to the shore.
As I read this story, this is what came to mind. I think sometimes we have a tendency to be so determined (i.e. stubborn) to do it OUR way that we close our ears to the wise council of others God has put in our lives or across our path. I know that has been true for me. And the person He likes to use the most that I usually have the hardest time hearing from is my husband! Go figure! There’s a reason the Lord put us together and it would do me good to pay attention when he speaks wisdom into my life! I’m a pretty easy going, flexible person, but for some reason, when it comes to my husband opposing me or suggesting alternate ideas, I get this stubborn streak that wants to have my way! It’s pride, it’s selfishness, it’s me out to prove I can do it and “You can’t tell me what to do – we’re equals here, remember?” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve acted that way in the last 10 years of our marriage, I’d be a wealthy woman!
The truth is, we all can be selfish and want our own way. We all think we know better or try to push the limits just a bit further, even after the warnings, and we end up suffering more loss than we expected. Our lives may still be intact, but what we started out with may be gone or ruined. It doesn’t end the way it was supposed to.
Isaiah 53:6 says All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.
Proverbs 14:12 says: There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.
There is a plan God wants us to follow and there are consequences when we decide not to follow them. Of course there is forgiveness and second chances along the way, but I’d rather listen and get it right the first time than suffer loss from disobeying. (And we all know the difference when we deliberately decide not to and when we do things unintentionally!) J
James 1:5 says: “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
My prayer for you and myself is that we will avoid a shipwreck. That we would stop, listen and soften our hearts to what the Lord may be saying to us, even though we have determined in our minds what WE think we should do or is best. Maybe there is disaster ahead we aren’t aware of that God is trying to protect us from, just like He did with Paul.
Kayla Atkins
I took my kids to church camp in North Carolina. The two teens were getting ready for their service as junior counselors, so I dropped them off a day early. The younger boys and I had an afternoon, evening, and the next morning before dropping of the 10-year-old for his first camp experience. We were able to swim at the camp pool that afternoon, and they wanted to try out their new goggles. When one set of cheap goggles broke, a squabble broke out over the remaining pair. ”Mine!” “No, mine!” So Mom stepped in: “Mine. I paid for it. It belongs to me.”
