Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. Acts 27:14-15 NIV
Getting caught in a storm with hurricane force winds is scary enough on land. I can only imagine what it would be like while out at sea on a ship. I think I’d feel very helpless. It sounds like that’s the way Paul and his traveling companions felt. They didn’t have a lot of options. Sometimes we get caught by the storms of life, and since we can’t seem to make any headway, we simply allow the situation to drive us along, pushing us farther and farther away from where we want to be.
As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, so the men hoisted it aboard. Acts 27:16-17a NIV
Dictionary.com defines a lifeboat as “a double-ended ship’s boat, constructed, mounted, and provisioned so as to be readily able to rescue and maintain persons from a sinking vessel.” I think of a lifeboat as a back-up plan, a safety net so to speak, the last resort when you’ve exhausted every other option and the ship is going down. What are some of the things you count on when the storms of life hit and you need a safety net? In this account the lifeboat was not going to be much help, the storm was just too strong. I believe there are times in life when God allows the storms we encounter to render our “lifeboats” useless. Why? Because He wants to be the one we turn to. He wants to be our lifeboat. He wants us to rely on Him alone!
Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Acts 27:17b
The idea was to wrap enough ropes around the ship to act like a “cocoon” that would protect the ship from falling apart. When the storm is strong and we are scared we too try everything we can to “hold it together!” I’m guessing wrapping ropes around the ship Paul was on while it was being violently tossed about was no easy task. There’s nothing wrong with implementing wisdom and doing what we can to keep it together, but let’s be honest, that can be absolutely exhausting! While we want to exercise sound wisdom, there’s a very big difference in operating out of panic or fear and calmly implementing the wisdom given us by the One who has the power to calm the storm with just His voice.
We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. Acts 27:18-19
Without the cargo, food would be limited. Without the tackle, it would have been very difficult to raise or lower the sails. Anything not immediately needed was thrown out in hopes of lightening the ship. Funny how a storm in life causes us to evaluate what’s important and to let go of those things that aren’t! Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” (NKJV) Sometimes we need to eliminate the sin that ensnares us and sometimes we need to eliminate things that may not necessarily be sinful but are weighing us down and distracting us from our focus on Jesus.
We place value on too many things and too many activities. How many times have we caught ourselves saying, I would like to (pray, read, attend that church event, visit the sick) but I just don’t have the time!? Sometimes it’s worthless activities that need to be thrown overboard. Maybe the cargo that needs to be trimmed down is career related. If you work so much that you don’t have time to develop your relationships with Christ, then you work too much. The Psalmist got it right when he said, Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. Psalm 119:37 NLT
The storm raged on for 14 days. If you’d like to read the rest of the story and find out how it all turned out Click here to go to Acts 27:20-44.