God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

In our last post from the book of Acts we looked at how Paul experienced an apparent misfortune when Festus and Agrippa heard his case and decided to send him to Rome. If you’re interested, you can read more here: “Paul’s Apparent Misfortune–Acts 26:30-32”.

In today’s post we’ll follow Paul on his journey, and we’ll learn something about Paul’s character.

Read Acts chapter 27.

Acts 27

So it was decided that the way to transport Paul to Rome was by ship. A centurion named Julius and some of his soldiers were assigned to guard Paul, and some other prisoners. A Roman centurion could gain passage on a ship for free, and so Julius found a ship about to sail and he loaded up his soldiers and his charges and they embarked. They sailed for a day and then put in at Sidon, where Julius did something interesting. He allowed his prisoner Paul to take leave and go to his friends to be cared for. Paul returned to the ship and boarded. They sailed to Myra in Lycia, where Julius found a ship sailing for Italy. The winds were unfavorable and it was slow going. After some days they anchored in a place called Fair Havens which was near the city of Lasea.

By now, so much time had passed the voyage had become dangerous because winter weather was about to set in which meant high winds and stormy seas.

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.” But the centurion gave more weight to the opinions of the pilot and the owner of the ship, than to what Paul said. So they set sail, hoping to make it to a harbor of Crete called Phoenix, a harbor that was a good place to winter.

At first things went well. A gentle south wind blew them along. But they weren’t far along before a northeaster hit. They managed to navigate into the lee side of a small island called Cauda. But the storm continued to rage. They began to toss cargo overboard. On the third day they tossed the ship’s tackle overboard. They saw neither sun nor stars (both used for navigation) for many days, and they were all losing hope.

They had been without food for a long time. Paul stood up among them and said: Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.” So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.

When the fourteenth night came, as they were being driven along across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight, the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. They took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. A little farther they took another sounding and found fifteen fathoms. Around this time, the sailors attempted to escape. They lowered the ship’s boat into the sea. But Paul said to Julius the centurion, and to the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut the ropes to the ship’s boat and let it go.

Just before dawn, Paul stood among them and pointed out that they hadn’t eaten in two weeks. He urged them to eat. And he made a prophetic statement. He said, “Not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” After saying these things, Paul took some food and gave thanks to God in the presence of everyone, and he began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Then they lightened the ship even further by tossing the wheat into the sea.

When it was day, they saw land but it was unfamiliar to everyone onboard. However there was a bay with a beach, so they made a plan to run the ship ashore. As they headed toward land, however, they crashed into a reef. The bow stuck fast, and the stern was being broken apart by the surf.

The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to prevent any from escaping. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard and make for land. Those who couldn’t swim, he ordered to use planks or other pieces of the ship as floats.

And so it was that all were brought safely to land.

A Contrast in Character

Something I never saw before in this passage is the contrast in character between Paul and the sailors onboard the ship. In verse three we see the centurion in charge, Julius, allow Paul, his prisoner, shore leave which seems remarkable. Something in Paul’s character caused Julius to trust Paul not to make an attempt at escape. In contrast, when things became difficult, the sailors did attempt an escape.

Today, we live in a culture that values people’s feelings, which is generally a good thing. But it seems obvious to me that too many have taken it too far. Avoiding certain feelings: feeling uncomfortable, or feeling bored, or feeling challenged, or feeling offended, or feeling inconvenienced is perhaps prioritized a little too hard and a little too often.

Earlier today I read an article by Christina Crook about how she committed to allowing a family of five to live with her, and her family of five, in her single family residence, which has just one shower, for one year. So, yeah–ten people, one shower, one long year.

Sounds like that would be really hard, and from what I learned in her article–it was! “It feels like we are walking on water, then drowning, then pulling one another up for air,” she wrote.

After reading that article, the thing I admire about Christina is her character and her commitment. She could have bailed. She could have said, “You know what, I’m sorry, but this is just too hard. You’re going to have to make some other arrangement.” But she didn’t. She persevered. The ten of them made it through the entire year.

Paul’s character and his commitment to sharing the gospel in Rome, the center of the world at that time, were such that he persevered. The sailors tried to bail. They were the ones with the expertise, the ones who might help the others to survive. But they tried to abandon them.

Character matters.

Commitment matters.

So maybe you’re in a situation right now where you’re tempted to bail out of a commitment. Or you’re tempted to bail out of a marriage. Or you’re tempted to bail out of a responsibility.

If you are, then this message is for you.

On the face of it, in the short term, entertainment, and avoiding inconvenience, and making things easy seem like good ideas.

But in reality, over a lifetime, a highly entertained, convenient, easy life doesn’t compare to a life with meaning, purpose, and fulfillment.

God had it in His mind for Paul to share Jesus at the center of the world, in Rome.

And God has it in His mind for you and for me to live a life marked by the character of Christ. A life of commitment to following Jesus closely.

Living that kind of life isn’t the easiest. But the moment after you die, when you’re face to face with your Creator,

You won’t regret it.

Notes:

Christina Crook, The Good Burden of Being Committed, Medium, November 10, 2021 (An excellent article and one I recommend)

Image of families via StockCake–Public Domain

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