The Storms of Life February 25th, 2024
God of wisdom, deepen our understanding as we hear the Scriptures read and interpreted today. By your Holy Spirit, reveal new insight into your truth, and equip us to live it out as we follow Christ, your Living Word. Amen.
Today’s scripture lessons are all about storms on the seas. In our Old Testament lesson, we heard the well known story about Jonah and the storm that the ship he was on encountered as it sailed toward the city of Tarshish. A storm so bad that even the sailors were afraid for their lives. So bad, that Jonah volunteered to be thrown overboard in an effort to appease the gods.
And in our Gospel reading we heard about Jesus and his disciples sailing across the Sea of Galilee when a violent storm comes up. Jesus was asleep in the boat, but the disciples were so afraid that they went and woke him up, saying, “‘…Lord, save us! We are perishing!’” (Matt.8:25) This is what happened next, “And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.” (Matt.8:26)
Now all of us are familiar with storms, whether they be lightning, snow, windstorms, or storms at sea. Remember how bad hurricane Fiona was, the results can still be seen in all the blown down trees. Storms can be unpredictable and dangerous. Violent weather can bring all kinds of death and destruction.
I’ve had very little experience with storms on the water, my ancestors were coal miners, not fishermen, so there is not a lot of salt water in my blood. The one time I do remember being frightened while on the water was on a trip I took with my brother, Jim, when I was seventeen. At that time, he worked in Newfoundland and had come back home to buy a car. As it was March break at school he asked if I liked to go with him when he went back. I was excited to have the chance and so we drove to North Sydney and caught the boat to Port aux Basques. It was an overnight sail, but Jim had reserved a cabin, somewhere down in the ship, so we had a place to sleep. Sometime during the night, I woke up to a loud bang, then a whooshing sound. My heart sank! I thought we had hit an iceberg, and the noise was the water was rushing into the ship. I jumped up to wake Jim, when I heard the same thing again, then a few seconds later, once more. Finally, it dawned on me, we were hitting sheets of ice and the whooshing noise was them sliding under the hull. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep the rest of that night!
But the storm which the Apostle Paul got caught in resulted in a lot more than the loss of a few hours sleep. Let’s see what took place.
The Apostle Luke begins the story in this way, “When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, they transferred Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort, named Julius…. When a moderate south wind began to blow, they thought they could achieve their purpose; so, they weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, close to the shore.” What we had heard last about Paul was that he had been on trial in front of the governor of Judea, charged by the leaders of the Temple in Jerusalem of trying to incite a riot. In fact, they were opposed to his message of Jesus being the Son of God and the long awaited Messiah for Israel and were looking for a way to get rid of him.
But those leaders were unable to offer any solid proof that Paul was guilty of any crime, so when the trial concluded the governor could not convict him. But Paul wasn’t free yet. Earlier he had appealed to have his case heard in front of the emperor’s tribunal in Rome, as was his right as a Roman citizen, and so he was kept in prison until arrangements could be made to have him sent to Rome. And now a ship had been found and off Paul went, along with a few other prisoners, under the watchful eye of a centurion.
Things started out well, they found a favourable wind and so were making good time, until, were told, “But soon a violent wind, called the northeaster, rushed down from Crete. Since the ship was caught and could not be turned with its head to the wind, we gave way to it and were driven. By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control.” This “ship’s boat” was the dinghy towed behind the ship and used to get to shore when anchored in a place where there wasn’t a wharf.
The problem was that this trip to Rome was attempted at a dangerous time of the year for sailing. It was late October, which was the time for the beginning of the gales of November, and the ship got caught in one of them. Paul had warned them that it would be better to stay in port until spring as it was not a good time for sailing because of frequent and sudden storms. But the captain thought that would they still have enough fair weather to make the journey.
And isn’t that the same in our lives, as well. Circumstances can change suddenly and without warning. One moment the situation appears under control, our lives are sailing smoothly along, and the next moment, without warning, everything changes. A storm arises, an unexpected event occurs, and we find ourselves at the mercy of forces beyond our control. Indeed, I suspect each of us will have times when the storms of life bring us to a point where we feel like giving up, where we feel like abandoning hope of ever being saved.
And for Paul, and all aboard that ship, things went from bad to worse, “We were being pounded by the storm so violently that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard, and on the third day with their own hands they threw the ship’s tackle overboard. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.” As soon as they had gotten out into open water, a furious wind with the strength of a hurricane arose which made it impossible to return to harbour but instead drove the ship into the middle of the Mediterranean.
This was the beginning of a fourteen day and fourteen night storm. The sailors tried to do everything they could to prevent the ship from sinking. They passed ropes underneath the ship to keep the planks from spreading apart. They threw cargo overboard to lighten the ship which was being swamped by water. But the storm continued, and the sailors had no idea where they were. They finally despaired of all hope and thought they were done for.
Then, in the midst of all that panic and despair, Paul stood up and said this to the men, “‘Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss. I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For last night there stood by 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 the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.” So, keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.” Now this was the fourth time in the book of Acts which we read about either Jesus or an angel appearing to Paul to encourage him. God had a plan and purpose for Paul's life and a storm was not going to stop it.
And so, we’re told by Luke, “In the morning they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned to run the ship ashore, if they could. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time, they loosened the ropes that tied the steering-oars; then hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the ship aground; the bow stuck and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. … but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. God had delivered Paul, and all those on board, from the storm.
Now, has there ever been a time in your walk with the Lord that you knew that you were doing the will of God; when you knew that you were walking in faith and obedience to his will; and yet, you found your life in the midst of a great storm? You quite likely have never experienced a fourteen-day storm at sea, but you may have had to endure a fourteen-hour wait in Emergency, or a fourteen hundred dollar bill for unexpected home repairs. These are often the kinds of storms we have to weather.
And what can we learn from this story? First, we learn that sometimes God allows us to go through storms in our lives, even when we are following his will. Paul was doing what God wanted him to do, but he still faced a great trial. Sometimes we may think that if we obey God, everything will go smoothly for us. But that is not always the case. Sometimes God uses the storms to test our faith, to refine our character, or to prepare us for something greater. We should not be surprised or discouraged when we face difficulties in our Christian journey.
Second, we learn that God is with us in the storms. He does not abandon us or forget us. He is always watching over us and working for our good. He sends his angels to minister to us and his Spirit to comfort us. He gives us his promises and his presence. He assures us that he has a plan and a purpose for our lives, and that nothing can stop his will from being done. He tells us not to be afraid, but to trust him.
Third, we learn that God can use the storms for his glory. He can turn what seems like a disaster into a blessing. He can use our troubles to show his power and his grace. He can use our trials to advance his gospel and his kingdom. He can use our sufferings to make us a witness and a blessing to others. That's what he did with Paul. He used the shipwreck to bring salvation to the people on the island of Malta, where they landed. He used Paul's imprisonment in Rome to spread the gospel to the whole imperial guard and beyond.
So let us remember these lessons when we face storms in our lives. Let us not lose hope but take heart. Let us not be afraid, but trust God. Let us not complain, but praise God. For he is with us, he is for us, and he is working all things together for good. So, what does this mean for us today? It means that we can trust God in the storms of life. We can trust that he is with us, that he has a purpose for us, and that he can deliver us. We don't have to be afraid or lose hope. We can keep up our courage and have faith in God. As someone once put it, “God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.”
Let us Pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the reminder from this chapter that life is intended to be filled with difficulties and dangers, perils, and even shipwrecks at times, and that it is through all these that we make our way, learning great lessons along the way to your heavenly kingdom. Help us to understand that they all have their purposes. Amen