All Is Not Lost

For some of you the last season of your life has resembled Paul’s stormy passage at sea.  You were aboard ship held captive because of the calling on your life.  In route to a new season you encountered a storm that has put everything in jeopardy. Like the storm in your life, Paul’s storm was so intense the scripture says, “The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale.” (Acts 27:15) Your personal storm has been so powerful you have given up your ability to sail against it’s influence and you now find yourself being pushed forward by unfamiliar winds toward an unknown destination.

You have made radical adjustments in your lifestyle in order to lighten your load.  Like Paul and his companions, you have begun to throw things overboard you thought you would need to complete the passage, but now realize those things will soon be adrift without you. 

Luke describes what was happening aboard Paul’s ship: “The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard. The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.” (Acts 27:18) The situation was so serious the ship’s crew and all the passengers aboard felt all hope had been lost. They would soon discover in every hopeless situation, God always has another plan.

The personal shipwreck you are going through will not be a total loss.  The cargo of your life can be replaced.  In God’s thinking it is your life, not the cargo that has accompanied your life thus far, that has value to Him.  He has plans and a future for you, not for lost cargo.  While in the middle of his life-threatening storm Paul addressed the 276 souls aboard ship and said,  “God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.” (Acts 27:24)

You are going to make it through this storm.  You will make it by trusting God to safely land you at a port-of-call not previously listed on your itinerary. Trust is your vessel for a safe passage. Your coming landfall will reveal God’s purpose for this unplanned and unexpected leg of your journey.