Trusting God in the Storms of Life

Acts 27:1-44

Have you ever experienced despair because of the storms of life? Sometimes they come suddenly. It’s unexpected, unwarranted, and unforeseeable. There was an accident. You lost your job. Your mom has cancer. There’s legal trouble. There’s family strife. The natural man often reacts with despair or anger or fear. It’s natural. But the Spirit controlled man will struggle against the flesh and fight to react with grace. Grace under pressure is not common among men. Some have it but most do not. Even Elijah the Prophet gave into discouragement. He probably expected Queen Jezebel to convert after the competition with the Baal prophets, but instead she defied him and sought to kill him. He escaped to Mount Horeb where he found comfort in the Lord. He was a man subject to passions like we are. But when Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and sold into slavery, he persevered. Even though he was betrayed by Mrs Potiphar and ignored by the cupbearer he helped, he continued to trust God in prison. Grace under pressure.

In this passage, we see the Apostle Paul displaying grace under pressure and trust and serenity in the storms of life - both literally and figuratively. Now, Paul was used to such pressure - he’d already been in prison for over 2 years. He’d been wrongly imprisoned, threatened by Gentiles and his fellow Jews, and he’d faced countless trials in each missionary journey. And now, when he was being transferred to Rome, his ship was destroyed. Despite this, Paul carried himself with grace and confidence. His confidence was in God. In the storms of life, he trusted God that he’d be safe from shipwreck.

We learn from this passage 3 resolutions we must settle in our hearts. Firstly, always expect the storms of life. Secondly, always respond rightly to the storms of life. Thirdly, always trust God in the storms of life.

Firstly, always expect the storms of life. If life was difficult for Paul, it’ll be difficult for us. God never promised a problem free life. In fact, God promised Adam that he would live by the sweat of his brow. Work will be hard. He promised Adam that Eve would desire to dominate him. Relationship will be hard. These things aren’t removed just because we’re saved. Why? Because we’re not removed from the world. We’re still here. And Paul’s travail, while much more magnified, is no different in substance from ours. From this account, we draw general observations about these storms of life. We must realize that while things may be good, they don’t stay good. Good beginnings often deceive. In verse 1 Paul and some other prisoners were put on a ship bound for Rome. They were under the care of Julius the centurion. After sailing one day, they reached Sidon. And Paul was allowed to disembark and meet his friends. We learn in verse 3 that Paul was refreshed. What a great start! Even his guard gave him leave. But verse 4 tells us that the journey wouldn’t be as easy - “And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.” Because of the strong northern winds, they had to sail under the shelter of Cyprus. What starts well, may not continue well. In verse 6, they transferred to a larger ship - a grain ship. Verse 38 tells us it carried wheat and verse 37 tells us it could transport many people - two hundred, three score, and sixteen, or 276 people. The smaller ship couldn’t make it to Rome under the conditions of strong wind, but this one could. But was larger better? They said the Titanic was unsinkable, until it sank. While there was a larger ship, there were more problems. Notice the descriptive words. Verse 7 - we had sailed slowly. Verse 8 - the traveling was hard. Verse 9 - the sailing was dangerous. Verse 10 - there will be hurt and damage. Verse 17 - they used cables to reinforce the hull; fearing they’d hit a sandbar. Was a larger ship better? Yes, generally. But there are no guarantees. What starts well, what promises to be good, what is characterized by favorable winds - can often deceive. There’s no guarantee of success in life. And we see how bad it got.

Verse 9 tells us that the sailing got even more dangerous - “Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them.” It says the sailing was now dangerous - maybe more dangerous because there were already strong northern winds. But it was more dangerous now because the fast had just passed. The fast or religious feast mentioned here was the Day of Atonement. This means that they were sailing at the beginning of October. And this was a very dangerous time. Because this was the turn of the seasons where the north winds blew even stronger. But there was another problem. Verse 14 - “But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.” So while there was the northern wind, there was also another wind - the Euroclydon. This was an east wind. And what we learn is that it was tempestuous. The word is for tempestuous is literally typhonikos, meaning whirlwind. The Euroclydon was warm wind that blew from the east and it met the cold north wind in the Mediterranean Sea. What happened? Typhonikos! A great typhoon, or hurricane formed. They had thought it was bad before, but it was now much worse. In fact, verse 17 tells us they had to reinforce the ship with ropes. To keep the hull from breaking apart, they had to fasten ropes around the ship. And so bad was the storm, in verse 20, they couldn’t see the sun or stars for days - the sky was cloudy. And verse 20 expresses their feeling - “all hope that we should be saved was taken away.”

Not only do good starts deceive, but false hopes will often prevail. In verse 27, they seemed to have some hope - “But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country.” After 14 nights, the sailors sensed they were approaching land. If there was land, there was hope! But how did they have this hope? There was no sun, stars, or lighthouse to guide them on their journey; and they couldn’t see. But they had hope because they made a sounding, verse 28. A sounding was the practice of measuring the ocean floor. Usually where the ocean meets land, the ocean floor is shallower. And it gets so shallow that ships will beach - and that’s dangerous. So that’s why you need lighthouses to warn ships not to come too close. But there are certain natural harbors where sea meets land - these are deep enough for a ship to dock. But without lighthouses to know how shallow it is, the sailors made a sounding. They had to look for consistency in the continental shelf - the more consistent and shallow means that land was near. So they took 2 soundings. The first sounding was 20 fathoms or 36 meters. The second sounding was 15 fathoms or 27 meters. And this was bad news because inconsistent depth could mean that a while later it could be zero fathoms. There was hope of land! But it was false hope. The land could be dangerous for the ship. So, verse 29, fearing they could hit rocks, they dropped 4 anchors, and waited for day. Land seemed so near, but they couldn’t risk it. And even though there was hope, it had been false. There was a lot of uncertainty. Uncertainty prevailed.

Would you like to be on that ship? No? But frequently, we are. Good starts deceive. We may start with good health. Despite precautions taken, safety is never guaranteed. We eat healthy and take vitamins, but we may still get cancer. Bad times can get worse. Despite treatment, cancer spreads. And there will also be many false hopes. Just when we think we’re getting better, it’s spread to the bones. It’s not only our health. We wish our kids would excel so we move to a good school zone. But a good school doesn’t always lead to good students - they may fail. There are no guarantees in life, except difficulty. It could be changing jobs, starting a business, family, or marriage. My loneliness will go away when I get married! Some of the loneliest people are married people. It could even be ministry. How wonderful it is to serve the Lord! Then you realize how difficult it is. We must expect typhonikos in our lives. We must expect storms in our lives.

Secondly, always respond rightly to the storms of life. Folks, how do we react to typhonikos? We see the natural sinful response. This response is the go-to-response - it’s the dominant response. Everyone on board was in despair, except for Paul. This was natural. Now, in verse 8, when they had first anchored at Fair Havens - what an ironic name - the seas were already rough. It was October and they really needed to get to Rome since it was nearly winter. So they didn’t stay long because they wanted to preserve their wealth. Self-preservation was their dominant natural response then. If they didn’t get the grain to Rome quickly, it wouldn’t sell. So they wanted to leave, but in verse 10, Paul warned them not to. If they did, there would be trouble. Paul wasn’t relying on some prophecy - in fact, if there was anyone who wanted to get to Rome fast, it was him. He had appealed to Caesar. But Paul knew it was dangerous to travel at this time of year. He had already been shipwrecked 3 times and sailing amidst typhonikos, with the north winds and the Euroclydon systems clashing, was folly! He warned them, but the captain and the owner of the ship set sail. Julius was also in agreement. They had a lot riding on getting to Rome in time. This is many of us. We frequently make foolish choices because we want to preserve wealth. In a fire, people want to run back into the blaze to save their heirlooms, risking their lives. In an emergency landing, people foolishly try to get their cabin luggage from the overhead compartment. So in preserving their wealth, they ran into another storm. That’s why in verse 21, he said - “Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete.” Money was so important to them they had to sail.

But when desperation really hits, money and wealth don’t matter anymore. When they were in the middle of typhonikos, now they tried to preserve their life. Where once it was money, now it was life. In verse 30 the sailors tried to abandon ship and escape on a life boat. These sailors - the best and most skilled people on the boat filled with prisoners and cargo - were about to leave everyone behind to die. Then when they didn’t, in verse 38, they finally jettisoned the cargo. Life, not wealth, was more valuable. They realized the jewelry wasn’t worthy risking the blaze; that the passport in the bag was not worth risking the exit. But we see something terrifying in verse 42. When they finally found safe harbor, the prisoners started to escape, and the soldiers decided to kill them. They wanted to preserve their own lives. According to Roman law, a guard whose prisoner escaped would receive the same sentence the prisoner had. So these people would kill others to save themselves in the midst of storms in life. They tried to preserve money; then they tried to preserve life by escaping; then others tried to preserve life by killing. Are these natural responses? Yes. Dearly beloved, in times of self-preservation, we do the most unthinkable things to one another and to others. Self-preservation in times of typhonikos led to extreme measures and heartless responses. This can also happen in a church. We gossip, misread actions, cast doubts on people, refuse to work things through. But these natural actions are sinful actions.

But what was Paul’s response to typhonikos? He had a trusting spiritual response. In verse 10, Paul showed wisdom and common sense. He considered the storm, he considered the danger and loss and warned them not sail. He was calm and wise. Paul also demonstrated great compassion. While the sailors were all willing to run off and abandon ship, saving their own lives - Paul risked his life to minister to them. He pleaded with them not to leave the ship - verse 31 - “Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.” You see, the sailors thought that by abandoning ship, they’d be safe and the ship would sink. Paul knew that if they left the ship, they would certainly die. If it were us, we’d probably let the sailors die - you want to abandon ship, go ahead - to your deaths! But not Paul. He pleaded with them to stay and he cared for them. Because of the storm, they hadn’t eaten in 14 days. So in verse 34, he fed them. He fed the men that would later try to kill him. In the midst of typhonikos, he didn’t seek to save himself, he sought to save others. His life wasn’t important. Their lives and his Christian witness were important. There were 276 people. All but him experienced hopelessness. Verse 20 says they gave up all hope of being saved. Paul sought to save them from that despair. He knew the gospel. He lived the gospel. He preached Christ to them. He demonstrated Christ to them. Not only did he feed them, but he assured them. In verse 22, he gave them God’s Word - “Be of good cheer - take heart - for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.” God had assured Paul that no one would die. The ship might be lost, but no life would be. What he heard, he shared. In fact, because of Paul the whole ship was saved. Verse 24 - “God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.” What kind of man is confident in God, not despairing for himself, but concerned for others? What was the source of his grace and love in times of typhonikos?

We see thirdly how he always trusted in God in the storms of life. Verse 25 - “Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” Paul believed God. That’s why he was at peace. He was bold. He was loving. And if we know God, then why are we so often typhonikos? It’s because we don’t trust him. Paul was a witness. He was a missionary. And he had a missionary’s faith. He sought to encourage them. But not every Christian has this kind of disposition. We’re all a work in progress. Even pastors, missionaries, elders, deacons, fathers, grandfathers, etc. While Paul was like that, we know that another missionary on a ship was not like that. Both Paul and Jonah had a destination to go to. Both were on ships in the Mediterranean, heading the same direction. Both were in great and mighty storms. Both were calm while the sailors were typhonikos. But Paul was working to save the sailors; Jonah was asleep and didn’t care. Paul sought the captain out to warn him; Jonah had to be awoken by the captain. Paul was on the ship, willing to go to his destination. Jonah was on his ship, running away from his destination. Paul wanted to save the lives of endangered people; Jonah was the reason for endangering the people. Paul prevented people from leaving the ship to save them; Jonah told them to throw him off to kill him. Paul’s motto was to live is Christ, to die is gain; Jonah said it is better for me to die than to live. He was typhonikos at heart. But not Paul. He loved others more than himself - he had a missionary’s heart. He displaced gospel grace amidst the storms of life.

And the reason why is because he knew God’s grace. None of those in the ship will perish - God had revealed that to Paul, verse 22 - “there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.” If God has loved us so much that he sent Christ to die for us; why do we doubt God’s goodness in tough times? He has already expressed a father’s love. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Paul trusted that God would save them through shipwreck. And he did. Verse 44, the end - “And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.” This is the same with those who trust him. Whatever trial we’re facing, we’ll come out with our lives intact. We may lose our health, our money, our education, our earthly future, our earthly reputation - the ship might come to complete ruin, but not our lives. We may even die - this mortal vessel will wreck, but our souls will live. Paul made it to Rome where he died. But he lives.

You see, we wrongly judge the shipwreck in our lives to be some earthly loss - we do everything to save ourselves. In the end, the cables are tied around the ship; we save our lives by sacrificing others; we save our grain. We survive by our own strength and manipulation. But we shipwreck our faith. Paul not only survived, but he thrived. He showed forth the character of Christ during that storm. He demonstrated the gospel. He didn’t hide in some corner, nursing his wounded flesh. He was out there, demonstrating the gospel. He spoke about his past failures, without fear. He wasn’t protecting himself. When the disciples were in the vessel and the storm was raging, they tried to do all they could, until they cried to Christ - don’t you care we’re perishing? What did Jesus say? “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Peace, be still.” We are typhonikos because we lack faith. We lack faith because we love our lives to save it. And if we love our lives to save it, we will always be typhonikos. Because we won’t cry out to Christ. What did Jesus say? “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” Never fear the storms and shipwrecks in your life more than the shipwreck of your faith. If you have gone to Christ for salvation from sin and hell, go to him in your times of despair. If your sins have been purged by him, let him purge your fears. If you have leaned on him for salvation, lean on him in life. If he has given up all for you, give yourself to him.

1. Always Expect the Storms of Life

A. Good starts deceive

B. False hopes prevail

2. Always Respond Rightly to the Storms of Life

A. Sinful response

B. Spiritual response

3. Always Trust God in the Storms of Life

A. A missionary's faith

B. A father's love

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