April 29, 2002
LifeWay Family Bible Series for May 12
Faith in God can provide refuge in life's storms
___ Acts 27:128:10
___By Barbara Kent
___University Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___Recently my husband and I were driving home after visiting our children in Oklahoma and decided not to take Interstate 35 as we normally do. The country route we took showed us the results of the force of nature.
___Huge trees had been broken like matchsticks by the weight of ice and the force of wind. The devastation was startling. It would take months, if not years, to clean up the destruction caused by the storm.
___Any disaster is difficult to handle, but when it is what we term "natural," caused by nature, people often feel overwhelmed and bereaved. How can we respond?
___A journey interrupted by disaster
___Paul had been arrested and imprisoned on charges trumped up by the Jewish leaders (Acts 21:27-28, 33-34), and tried
before the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:30). When Paul learned of the Jews' plot to kill him, he appealed to Roman authorities who transferred him to Caesarea to be tried (Acts 23:27-30). Recognizing a fair trial was impossible, Paul appealed to Caesar on the basis of his Roman citizenship (Acts 25:10-11). Ultimately, he was put on a ship for Rome. On this fateful journey, Paul and his shipmates faced the force of nature in all its fury.
___The trip began late in the sailing season. Their progress was slow and erratic because of the weather. The gentle southerly breeze they thought would enable them to reach Phoenix and winter on the isle of Crete changed quickly to a hurricane (27:14). The storm battered them violently. They tried everything they knew; throwing cargo and even the ship's tackle overboard (27:19). The storm raged on for days until they gave up all hope of being saved (27:20). The journey had been interrupted by a natural disaster.
___Encouragement in the midst of disaster
___The crew and passengers had been fighting for their lives in the midst of the storm. Paul stood up before them and encouraged them. He said not one of them would be lost even though the ship would be destroyed (v. 22). Paul told them an angel of the Lord had appeared to him the previous night to say, "Do not be afraid" (v. 24). Paul would stand trial before Caesar and God had promised the lives of all who sailed with Paul would be spared (v. 24). Paul admonished the passengers and crew to have courage on the basis that he had faith God would keep his promise (v. 25).
___Caring for physical needs
___Paul's faith in the Lord enabled him to be sensitive to the physical needs of the people around him. He had prevented some of the frightened sailors from losing their lives by alerting the soldiers who guarded him of a plot by some of the men to escape from the ship in the night (27:29-32).
___On the morning of the 15th day, Paul urged the passengers and crew to eat (vv. 33-34). Their physical needs had to be met if they were to survive. Calmly, Paul took some bread, expressed thanks to God before them all, and began to eat (v. 35). Paul's care and calm example encouraged them. They, too, ate the food they needed.
___Care given by strangers
___As Paul predicted, the ship was destroyed, but all on board made it ashore the island of Malta. The people of Malta showed great kindness to the survivors of the shipwreck, building a fire to welcomed the wet, weary travelers.
___As Paul was adding wood to the fire, a snake, driven from the fire by the heat, attached itself to Paul's hand (v. 3). The islanders interpreted this to mean justice was being done--that Paul was a murderer and, though he had escaped the sea, he would not survive the bite. Paul shook the snake off into the fire (v. 5). He did not die and suffered no ill effects. The people then changed their minds and said he must be a god (v. 6).
___The chief government official of the island invited the survivors of the storm to his home and provided hospitality for them. His father was ill. Paul ministered to him and healed him (v. 8). Word spread quickly, and the people brought the others on the island who were sick. Paul ministered to and cured them as well. The people were grateful and furnished them with the supplies they needed.
___The kindness the islanders had shown to Paul and his shipmates was blessed by God through Paul's ministry. There is no evidence these islanders were believers, but they responded with kindness in the midst of great crisis. Paul ministered to his shipmates and to the islanders because of his faith in the Lord. God used both the unbelievers and his servant Paul to meet the needs of all.
___How to care in times of natural disaster
___Taking care of immediate physical needs such as food, shelter, clothing and medical assistance is crucial in such times. However, it is equally important to provide for spiritual needs by praying, caring, sharing testimony of God's promises and concern. As believers who have received so much from God's hand, how can we fail to provide whatever kind of care is needed in such times?
___Question for discussion
___ Why are natural disasters so unsettling to us?
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