Acts 27:21-26: a reflection

21When they had been long without food, Paul stood up in the middle of them and said, “Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail from Crete and have gotten this injury and loss. 22Now I exhort you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23For there stood by me this night an angel, belonging to the God whose I am and whom I serve, 24saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. Behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25Therefore, sirs, cheer up! For I believe God, that it will be just as it has been spoken to me. 26But we must run aground on a certain island.”

The ship has been battered by a storm for days; all hope of survival is gone, and no one has eaten. Into that despair, Paul stands up, and far from adding to the panic, he brings courage. Take heart, he says, for there will be no loss of life, only the ship. An angel of God stood by me this night, and told me I must stand before Caesar, and that God has granted safety to all who sail with me. And then the anchor of it all: I believe God, that it will be exactly as I was told.

Notice the source of Paul's calm in the storm. It is not that the danger is not real; the ship is going down. It is that God has spoken, and Paul takes him at his word. I believe God, he says, simply, that it will be as I was told. His confidence rests not on the weather clearing or on his own resources, but on the reliability of what God has said. And because he believes God, he can stand steady in the storm and even lift the courage of everyone else on board.

That is what taking God at his word can do, even in a storm. Paul's faith did not stop the wind, but it steadied him in it, and made him a source of courage to frightened people. When you are in your own storm, battered and out of hope, the steadying thing is not pretending the danger away but anchoring on what God has said, and daring to say with Paul, I believe God. Faith that takes him at his word can stand in the storm, and lift others' courage too. Believe God, and take heart.

Lord, in the storm Paul stood steady and even encouraged others, because he believed you and took you at your word. When I am battered and out of hope, help me anchor not on the weather clearing but on what you have said, and to say with Paul, I believe God. Steady me in the storm, and let my faith lift the courage of others too.