13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, 17 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor[b] and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
-Acts 27:13-26
Paul was on went through a whole lot before Paul spoke up and gave a word of encouragement from the Lord. Paul only said something after people “gave up all hope of being saved.” It must have been a pretty horrible situation.
But the Apostle Paul waited patiently. He didn’t start preaching until he knew everyone was at their wits end and had exhausted all their human solutions. It is in desperation that people are often able to see God.
When all hope was lost, Paul spoke up to give them hope. He let them know that God has not forgotten them and that in time, He will save them from their present predicament.
Oftentimes, this is what God has to do for us to get us to the point of humble desperation. We’re hit the bottom of the barrel with no human solutions left but to cry out to God to save us. And then He speaks to us through the Bible or through a godly person or through a fortuitous divine appointment and reminds us that He has not forgotten us and that He will help us through the present storm.
Are you struggling with something right now and trying to use your own might and intellect to fix the problem? Let go. Give it over to Jesus. Stop struggling. Let Him take over and lead you out of the storm. Do you trust Jesus?
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