Acts 27: Faith in the Middle of the Storm

In this episode of The Morning Charge, Joshua walks through Acts 27 and focuses on Paul’s journey by sea, the violent storm that overtook the ship, and the way God remained faithful in the middle of it all.

This chapter shows that following God does not always mean avoiding hardship. Paul and everyone with him faced real danger, uncertainty, and loss, but God’s promise still held firm. The message highlights courage, trust, spiritual leadership, and what it looks like to stay anchored in God during a storm.

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- Real Talk. Real Jesus. Real Life. -

Transcript

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Welcome to the Morning Charge. This is your moment to slow down, breathe, and get your spirit aligned before stepping into the day ahead. Life moves fast, responsibilities pile up, voices compete for your attention. But before the noise of the world takes over, this is where we come back to what actually matters. This is a place for honest conversations about faith, life, purpose, and everyday battles we all face. No pretending, no religious performance, just the truth. Because following Jesus was never meant to be complicated. It was meant to be real. So whether you're driving to work, you're getting the kids ready, or simply taking a quiet moment for yourself, you're in the right place. This is Real Talk, Real Jesus, Real Life. This is the Morning Charge. So it's not necessarily about the destination, it is everything about the journey. So let's look at more of Paul's journey today in Acts 27, starting in verse 1, if you want to read along with us. I've had enough coffee. I need to hydrate. Interestingly enough, with the with the way the text is worded, because this is something that comes to my mind, I'm like, when it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, I'm like, didn't Luke write this book? So it is likely that Luke joined Paul here and sailed with him to Rome. All right, Festus handed over Paul and a number of other prisoners to the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a member of the Imperial Guard. All right, so Paul is still in captivity, but yet Luke is here among other prisoners. All right, so we just kind of have to gather what we can gather from the text here. But I do firmly believe that, I mean, obviously Luke was here. He wouldn't have said we. You know, we see we hear other instances where he said they traveled here or they went there, because Luke is accounting this, but he said we traveled to Italy. So that makes me think that Luke is he's on the boat. All right. And the way this is documented, I feel like it would need to have an eyewitness document of this, not a third party where Paul is kind of recounting things and Luke is sort of dictating this. Okay. So just follow me as we go. That's not thus saith the Lord. These are what the scholars have said, and I kind of go, I can see that. Okay. So we went on board a ship for the port of Adramidium. Help me, Jesus. Adramidium. Okay, that's the modern day Turkey. Once again, it's that it's that region of Turkey. If you look at a map, look at Turkey, you've got to see where they were. It's a seaport in the Roman colony of Mysia. All right, Adramidium means I will abide in unalivingness. So they're abiding in it. They're living in not alive, they're inning, they're they're abiding in that. So that's kind of an interesting play on words there. But that's where they're that's where they went to board the ship that was planning to stop at various ports along the coast of southwestern Turkey. We put out to sea and we're accompanied by Aristarch Aristar Aristarchus, Jesus help me, from Thessalonica in Macedonia. That's the thing that trips most people up. His name means the best leader. Well, that's good news. Y'all know I'm big on names, so I enjoy looking down and seeing what the name actually means. But they were put out to sea and they were accompanied by a guy's name who means the best leader. So this gotta be good. Hopefully, we're gonna see. The next day we docked at Sedan. Or Sedan was a city. It's now modern-day Lebanon. If you look at the map and see where Lebanon is. And Julius, being considerate of Paul, allowed him to disembark and be refreshed by his friends living there. Remember, he's got a little bit of leadway. He's got a little bit of leadway. He's being refreshed by his friends that live there, and from there we put out to sea. But because the winds were against us, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus. The Aramaic could actually translate the winds were against them. The Aramaic actually says the spirits were against us. A little interesting translation there. But the winds weren't weren't taking them in the direction that they needed to go. So they sailed under the lee of Cyprus. After sailing across the open sea off Silica and Pamphylia, we docked at the port of Myra in Lysia. While we were there, the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy, and he put us on board. So we found another ship. He said, Okay, go to put us on board. We made little headway for several days, and with difficulty we made it to Nidas. All right, Nidas. That was an ancient port city of the Gulf of Gakava. In other words, the coast of Turkey. Remember, they're sailing around what the southern part of Turkey, I believe, or the western, yeah, the southwestern part of Turkey is where they're sailing. But they made little headway. The strong winds kept us from holding our course. So from there, we sailed along the Lee of Crate, opposite Cape Salome. And when it says that they circled, they sailed along, the Aramaic says they circled it. So they're sailing, but they're they're they they're going around in a big circle. Hugging the coast, we struggled on. Now notice, I just want you to know, don't get so hung up in the places, even though they are important, and I'm big on names and where they were. And it's good to see where they are, to see how they're how they're journeying. But there's a struggle that's going on here. These are not the best conditions to be sailing in. So now they're hugging the coast. They struggled on to a place called Fair Havens near the town of Lassia. And they remain, see, he said we remain there for a long time until we pass the day of the Jewish fast. So they were there for quite a while. That was possibly the day of atonement, all right, when every Jew would fast. That's what they believed this particular event was that was going on there. Paul advised the frightened sailors that they should not put out to sea in such dangerous weather, saying, Men, I can see that our voyage would be disastrous for us and bring great loss, not only to our ship and cargo, but also to our own lives. We should remain here, he is saying. They could not navigate the Mediterranean. It was the day, it would be kind of like our hurricane season, okay, between what, June and November? All right, down on the Gulf Coast, out in the Atlantic. You know, we kind of have that season where you're just real cautious about going out. But now remember, they didn't have National Weather Service. They didn't have all of these alerts and Doppler radars, and they didn't have all this stuff then. I mean, could you imagine? There was no way to get your local weather forecast. Oh, let's tune in. I mean, what, someone's going to write a letter from somewhere? How long is that going to take to get over there to let you know a storm's coming? I mean, so it was just best. They picked up on weather patterns then. And then they determined that between here and here, probably shouldn't be sailing out in the Mediterranean. Not a real good idea. Paul is telling them this voyage would be disastrous for us and bring great loss, not to our ship, but also our own lives. We need to stay here, is what he's saying. All right, this was clearly a prophetic revelation given to the Apostle Paul. He was giving them a warning. But in verse 11, the officer in charge was persuaded more by the ship's helmsman and the captain than he was by Paul. So I'm going to listen to the ship owner, and we're just going to go with him here. So the majority decided to put out to sea since Fairhaven was an exposed harbor and not suitable to winter in. They had hoped to somehow reach the Creighton port of Finnica, which was a more suitable port because it was facing south. So, in other words, it'd be a better place to be. So they're like, if we're facing south, it's going to be a better place for us to be. It would make sense had they gotten there before the season. Okay. But now they're wanting to sail during the dangerous time of the year for them. When a gentle south breeze began to blow, they assumed they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and they sailed close to crate. This was verse 13, verse 14. But it wasn't long before the weather abruptly worsened and a storm of hurricane force called the Nor'easter. So there's a nice south gentle breeze blowing. They're like, man, this is wonderful. But it wasn't long. The weather worsened, and a storm of hurricane force tore across the island and blew us out to sea. The sailors weren't able to turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and they let it be driven by the gale winds. In other words, they're encountering a typhoon out in the middle of the sea. And the Aramaic translates to, we surrendered to its power. We surrendered to it that I mean, because I mean you can't you out there in the middle trying to fight a storm at the helm and you ain't able to turn. Verse 16, as we pass to the lee of a small island called Cauda or the Gatos Guatos, you know what I'm talking about? Islands, you know what I'm talking about? Maybe I don't know. Look it up. We were barely able to get the ship's lifeboat under control. So the crew hoisted the dinghy aboard. The sailors used ropes and cables to undergird the ship. Arthur Aramake says they tied down the lifeboat on the ship lest it fall into the sea. Yeah, I mean uh absolutely right.

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I mean, I surrendered to the power. That is powerful. I surrendered to the power. It was too much.

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And now they're now they're they're they're securing the lifeboats on the side. They used ropes and cables to undergird the ship, fearing they would run aground on the shoals of Certus. But really they don't even know where they are at this point. I mean, it it just sends you into just an oblivion. They lowered the drag anchor to slow its speed, and they let the ship be driven along. They're doing the very best they can in a real bad situation. The next day, because of being battered severely by the storm, the sailors jettisoned the cargo. What is jettisoned? I had to look that up. They jettisoned the cargo. That means they tossed it overboard. All the goods they had, we got to get rid of this, or this thing's gonna get rid of us. So now they're throwing things overboard. And by the third day, they even threw the ship's tackle and rigging overboard. They're getting rid of everything they possibly can. After many days of seeing neither the sun nor the stars, and with the violent storm continuing to rage against us, all hope of ever getting through it alive was abandoned. You have to think the way that hurricanes, the way that they churn typhoons, all right, this nor'eastern that they're caught up in, it's all kind of a collectively means the same thing. But it is swirling so much, it literally is sucking them into it and carrying it with it as it goes. There was no coming out of this. I mean, it was getting sucked into the storm. I mean, they're going days. Usually the hurricane comes in. If you're on shore, it blows in and it blows out. Might take a few hours, but this is dragging on for days. Finally, they're losing hope. Verse 21, after being without being without food for a long time, Paul stepped before them all and said, Men, you should have obeyed me and avoided all this pain and suffering by not leaving crate. And you guys should have listened to me. There's a Greek word for this. Anyway, the Greek word means to obey one who is in authority. Paul was the true captain of this ship and carried the weight of authority. Why? Because he is carrying the authority of Jesus Christ with him. He knows he has the authority of Jesus on the inside, and he's saying, You guys should have listened to me. Now listen to me, is what he goes on to say in verse 22. You should have listened to me then, but now listen to me now. Don't be depressed, for no one will perish, only the ship will be lost. For God's angel visited me last night, the angel of my God, the God I passionately serve, he came and stood in front of me and said, Don't be afraid, Paul. He's had many visitations, and his instructions are don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. You keep moving forward. Don't you be afraid. Do y'all think that this is going to be the same message for all of us? Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. God may be calling you to do some very difficult things. In the middle of your storm, He looks at you and says, Do not be afraid. For the only thing that's going to be lost here is maybe something that the situation is carrying, but you, my friends, will be spared. We will go through storms. We will go through tests. We will go through trials, but our God is greater. Our God is bigger. And He is going to spare you if you do not grow weary. And He is telling them right here, do not be depressed. For no one will perish, only the ship is going to be lost. He said, I heard from an angel visited me, and I heard from the voice of the Lord, you are destined to stand trial before Caesar. That's what that's Paul said. He said, This is what he said. Don't be afraid. You're destined to stand trial before Caesar. Why? Because Jesus earlier said, was it in chapter 9, where you're going to be standing before kings.

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I will have you stand before kings.

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You're destined to stand before stand trial before Caesar, and because of God's favor on you, he has given you the lives of everyone who is sailing with you. These men didn't quite know Jesus. Probably weren't some of the most saved sailor men in the land, I can already tell you. Other than Luke and those that the other prisoners maybe that were riding with Paul. But he's saying the voice of the Lord thundered. And this angel told me, Everyone whose lives are on this boat is going to be saved. So, men, keep up your courage. I know that God will protect you just as he told me he would, but we must run aground on some island to be saved. He's taking what he heard from the Lord, and he is saying, But I'm gonna go ahead and tell you we gotta find some land to run upon for this thing to be saved. Now the ship is gonna go through heck when we run a when we run ashore, but our lives will be spared. Verse 27 says, On the 14th night of being tossed about the Adriatic Sea, about midnight, the sailors sensed that we were approaching land. So they took soundings and discovered that the water was about 120 feet deep. They took soundings, they took measurements. They'd run it down, see where it stopped, and they knew they were about 120 feet deep. After sailing a short distance, they again took soundings again.

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They found it was only ninety feet deep.

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Fearing we would be dashed against a rocky coast, they dropped four anchors from the stern and they waited for morning to come. Just using wisdom. They know they gotta run this thing ashore. This is fourteen days. They've been out here with a storm. Fourteen days. My goodness gracious. Verse 30 says, Some sailors pretended to go down to drop anchors from the bow when in fact they wanted to lower the lifeboat into the sea and escape abandoning ship.

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The voice of the Lord has already spoke to them. They don't even realize it.

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They're still in their flesh. They're still depressed, they're scared, and they're like, Get us out of here. I didn't ask for this. Get me out of here. Paul said to the Roman officer and his soldiers, unless you all stay together on board the ship, you have no chance of surviving. At that moment, they heard this. The soldiers cut the ropes of the dinghy and they let it fall away. No more lifeboat. I know, isn't that interesting, Tim? They had lifeboats. I know you guys automatically went to a cruise ship in your mind, didn't you? Wait, they had ways to be rescued? Oh yeah. Yeah, they had ways to be rescued. Sure did. Yeah, that's not a new technology where they, yeah, or that, or that as well, Tim. The one that didn't quite make it, and the dinghies became very important in that, in that matter, just not enough of them. But the soldiers cut the ropes and they let them all fall away. Ain't nobody getting off this ship. We will wait till morning. And then verse 33, just before daybreak, Paul urged everyone to eat. Eat. He said, Today makes two full weeks that you've been in fearful peril and hunger, unable to eat a thing. So 14 days, they've just been they've just been in this storm and in this storm and in this storm, and oh my goodness. This is Acts chapter 27. But they're in the storm, they're getting tossed to and fro. They're doing everything they can to save their ship, to save their life, to do this, to do that. I imagine they're very stressed out at this point. But Paul says, Now eat and be nourished, for you'll all come through this ordeal without a scratch, or not one hair on your heads will perish from this. It's all going to be okay. Calm down. Let's eat. Then Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them, broke it and began to eat. So this was more than just I'm hungry, I need to eat something. This was a let's all sit down and have a meal together. And now we can watch as we remember what God has done, what Jesus did for us. So he literally begins to do communion right there in front of them. He broke bread, he gave thanks to God, he glorified God in that moment. But they noticed a cove with a sandy beach, so they decided to run the ship ashore. They cut away the anchors, leaving them in the sea, untied the ropes holding the rudders, and hoisted the foresail to the breeze to head for the beach. But they drifted into the rocky shoals between two depths of the sea, causing the ship. To flounder, still a distance from shore.

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Oh boy.

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The bow was stuck fast, jamming on the rocks, while the stern was being smashed by the pounding of the surf. The soldiers wanted to unalive all the prisoners to prevent them from escaping, but the Roman officer was determined to bring Paul safely through. He's like, nah, we're not doing that. So the soldiers are wanting to unalive these prisoners. The Roman officer said, Mm, we're going to bring Paul safely through this. So he foiled all their attempts at that. He commanded the prisoners and the crew who could swim to jump overboard and swim ashore. That was the best thing for them. All right, go ahead and go. The rest all managed to survive by clinging to planks and broken pieces of the ship so that everyone scrambled to the shore uninjured. Did you see that? Everyone scrambled to the shore uninjured.

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That was not a very smooth landing, if you will.

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Not going to really endure anything. It's not going to be any pain. It's not going to be any, you know, we're all saved and it's all great and it's going to be glorious and we're going to make it. No, no, no. He said he would be there with you in the midst of the storm. An angel visited Paul. This man is so on fire for Jesus, so about spreading the gospel. Why in the world did he have to go? If God was so loving, why did he have to go through all this? That is a that is not it. That's not an accurate question to ask.

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God is loving.

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People are not. Not all people were. See, Paul's issue was not with God. Paul's issue were with people that weren't following the way. But he chose to continue to love on God as God loved on him, and he endured much pain because of, yeah, there you go. There you go, Sandy. Because of the the enemy. Because of the religious sect, the religious system. The Pharisees and the Sadducees coming against what they had going on. So they took they took it in their human power to do very human, torturous things.

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Paul stood up for the truth. He wanted them to see the truth.

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They didn't want to see the truth. So therefore, Paul endured the pain of them not wanting to see the truth.

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Y'all following this?

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Every good and perfect thing comes from God. But our brains have things twisted that for some reason we go through pains and sufferings and this and that and the other. It's all his fault. Look at Job. We went through the whole study of Job. Job went through much suffering, much loss. But God restored everything to him. And he stayed faithful to God through the entire trial, through the entire testing. There was just one thing that is different for us than with him. He cried out for a mediator. If I only had a mediator between me and the Lord, you and I have a mediator between us and the Lord. His name is Jesus. Job didn't have Jesus yet. A lot of prophets talking about this coming Messiah. Wasn't there for Job yet? Job's example to endure should really speak to us. Paul's example to endure, you see, he's going through much great suffering. And and looking at Paul, he's already written, I mean, this is kind of the account of Paul to the end, okay?

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Alright, we got one more chapter to get through here. And we're gonna see.

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We're gonna see how Paul continues on, but but by this time, Paul's already written a good bit of letters. Paul's already written a lot of the letters to Ephesus and Corinthians. You gotta remember, he's done most of his travel already. Let me rephrase that. He's done all of his travels already as far as going and planning churches. The greater mission for him is done. But he still writes and he still instructs, even though he's in captivity. A lot of us we get in captivity. Something happens to us, we just gonna give on up. Well, it's the end. I can't go here, can't go there. Paul's like, I can still write. And and you see, they've they've kind of given him some freedom. They still let him visit with friends and stuff.

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So what did we really see out of today? Let me pull up my notes.

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Paul's placed under the custody of the Roman centurion Julius. Now, Julius belonged to the Imperial Regiment, the Roman military unit responsible for transporting prisoners to places. All right, even though Paul is a prisoner, though, like I said, Julius treats him kindly, allows him to visit friends. He's got this freedom. Not everybody got this. All right, Paul, to me, it's like Paul had gained the respect of these Roman officials. And they listen to him only so far. After the storm, they're in tune a little better. He's like, I tried to tell you if you would just listen. So now God is using him in a mighty way to speak to other people in authority. God is using him to speak to people in authority. Paul had to start out being faithful among everybody. And now he said, I'm gonna put you before kings so you can speak the truth. That says a lot. That says a whole lot. Could we look at ourselves in the mirror and say and say that God's ready to put us before kings to speak? I'm just gonna be honest with me, probably not, not yet. But if we'll be faithful in the little, he will give you the much. This is what he means. So many times we think like, oh, if I clean my house real good, he's gonna give me a bigger, a bigger house. I mean, maybe. He wants to bless us, he wants to bless his children. But if you're faithful in the little, the things that you do in your home with your family, in your community, in your churches, then he will give you the much.

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He can put you before kings. Amen.

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So anyway, Paul's here. He's got a little bit of freedom, but he's still in captivity. They're about to endure some difficult sailing conditions, but nobody wants to listen. All right, the ship sails along the Mediterranean coast. They struggle because the winds are against them. We see, we see them having to stop here and go there and circle here. All right, ancient ships relied almost entirely on wind power. That's that's what they had. They had sails and wind power. They didn't have a whole lot of technology then. Okay. If the winds were unfavorable, the travel would become very dangerous or very slow. They they they really were experienced sailors, and you wanted to have somebody with experience, but even experience, if things got bad enough, it's out of their control at this point. Okay. They eventually arrive at the harbor called Fair Havens on the island of Crate. All right, Paul begins to warn them hey, if we continue this voyage, it's going to get very dangerous. Paul knew this because in sailing seasons in the Mediterranean, it was it was it was certain times of the year become very dangerous around if we look at our calendar and we really break this out in mid-September, storms became very dangerous. After early November, sailing usually stopped completely. So this was their hurricane season, if you will. Typhoons, the nor'eastern. All right, it's all the same type of storm, okay. But Paul mentions the fast while they were there. He's trying to get them to stop, and they were in this place in the fast, which we believe was the Jewish Day of Atonement. So if it was the Jewish Day of Atonement, looking at the calendar, that tells us that it means it was already really late in the sailing season. If you piece all of those events together, see, there's enough little nuggets there to be able to piece that together, but the ship's captain and the owner say, No, we're sailing anyway. Okay, we're gonna sail anyway. The centurion here trusts the professional sailor and says, We're gonna continue on our journey. All right. The lesson we need to learn here for us is experience does not always equal wisdom. It doesn't matter how experienced you are, you have to have wisdom as you move forward in what you're doing. If you don't have wisdom, what are you doing? Let's go back over our proverb study again, shall we? The book of wisdom, knowledge, revelation, understanding. All right, Paul was discerning spiritually. That's why it's important to follow the Holy Spirit. Doesn't matter your expertise, doesn't matter how smart you are, if you're not following the Holy Spirit, you're probably going to get yourself, okay, you are going to get yourself in trouble if you're not following the Holy Spirit. Paul was discerning that danger lied ahead. Paul was not a ship captain, but he his discernment was sharp. He was sharp, and he was trying to warn them, Holy Spirit saying don't do this, Holy Spirit saying don't do this. And the storm begins. The nor'easter hits. The crew begins their emergency procedures, much to no avail, though. All right, they they use ropes to undergird the ship. All right, and that means they they wrapped heavy ropes around the hull of the ship to prevent it from breaking apart during violent waves. That's what that meant. They're now holding the ship together with ropes. All right, together with wood. All right. So now they've got that done. We talked about they jettisoned the cargo, which means they tossed it overboard. All right. A lighter ship would sit a little higher in the water, all right, less likely to sink. So they needed to get rid of some stuff so it could kind of come up a little bit and ride these waves because you know they're riding some huge waves out there. And then eventually they start just tossing the equipment over. We got to get rid of more. All right. They were very desperate in this situation. They got to a point they're extremely desperate. And the storm lasted for days. We see it lasted for 14 days. All right, this was very dangerous. Luke said they could not see the sun nor the stars. In other words, it's like this storm is just pulling them along. And you have to remember, too, if they couldn't see the sun and the stars, well, why is that so important? Is that to let us know that there was a big storm there? Not only to let us know that it was cloudy and it was storming, but sailors used the sun and the stars to navigate. That was their that was their earthly compass. They had no way to do that. And it looked like all survival was gone at this point. Paul finally begins to speak up, though, and he says, Hey, you should have listened to me. He knew he had the authority of Jesus on the inside of him. He said, An angel appeared to me last night and said, Do not be afraid, Paul. You will stand before Caesar. God has granted safety to everyone that is sailing with you. Everyone is going to make it out. Paul was not the captain. He was not the captain of the ship, but he became the spiritual leader of that ship because he followed the way. He followed Jesus. He's listening to the Holy Spirit. He has angelic visitations. He knows when to be before the Lord. And just like Jesus was calm in the midst of the storm, Paul was calm in the midst of the storm. Now, to an extent, or the angel had to say, Don't be afraid, Paul. You got to think after so many days, have you ever had a situation go on for so long? You just kind of started in the beginning, you're like, God's going to move, God's going to move, God's going to move, God's going to move. And in the middle of that storm, you go, Man, I hope, I hope God's going to move. I hope God's going to make it. And a little bit of fear comes up in you. I want you to know you're just as human as anyone else. Paul was just as human as anyone else. He loved the Lord. He followed Jesus. He was in it to win it with God and spreading the gospel and would go anywhere and do anything for God. But I want you to know that he still had real emotions. He was still a real man.

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Why would the angels say, do not be afraid, Paul? Don't be afraid, Paul.

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It's going to be okay. You will stand before Caesar. What Jesus spoke to you, he is going to bring it to fruition.

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Do not be afraid.

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Everyone's survival, I believe, was tied to Paul being on that boat. In any other circumstances, those things would have just. Paul encourages everybody to eat. But not just to eat. What did he do in front of them? He takes the bread, he broke it, and he gives thanks to God and he eats it. Are you doing communion in your homes? If you're going through some real tough times, I encourage you to break bread before the Lord with your family and watch him move. If there's been sickness that comes through our house, you better believe. We're getting out the juice and the whatever we got, whether it's a piece of bread or it's a cracker, you say, I don't have those things from church. That don't matter. Use what you got. You got loaf bread. It is a matter of. Most of us are Gentiles. It's okay. Most, I mean, what matters is the heart of it. So use what you got. A little piece of bread, some Welch's grape juice, whatever you got. But we do communion with our family and we pray. And we watch God move. Remember. You know the song we prayed that we played earlier? I will remember. We might play it again here in just a moment, just because it's back out. But destiny wrote that song. I will remember what you did for me. And when we take communion, we break the bread and we drink the wine, the juice.

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When we do that, we are remembering what he did for us. Paul breaks the bread and he does it right there.

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He was calm, he was cool, he was collective, and even in the middle of a mess, he gave thanks to God. Why don't you give thanks to God in the middle of your mess today? After eating, they throw the remaining grain overboard to lighten the ship even further. When daylight comes, they attempt to run the ship aground on a beach and they hit a sandbar. And you gotta remember, there's a lot of we just think there's a couple of people on the ship. I mean, depending on the prisoners, the crew, all of that. Scholars believe there's about 276 people on board this ship because of the type of ship that it was. That's a lot of people. That's a lot of people to be crammed on a boat. I know, yeah. You're sitting here picturing it. I meant to give you that little nugget of info. They believe there's about 276, 270, 300 people on the ship.

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That's a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 40:46

But daylight comes, they hit the sandbar, the bow sticks, the stern is broken apart. The Roman soldiers are like, we need to unalive these prisoners. They're gonna be out here, they're gonna be running free. See, Roman law held guards very responsible if the prisoners escaped, remember? Because it would be on their time and their watch, and you also shall be gone. But the centurion stops them. No, no, no. He wanted to save Paul. He was like, we're not doing that. Everyone either swims or floats on debris to the shore. All 276 is the number they really believe. All 276 people survive exactly as God promised. All 276 of them.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

Storms do not cancel God's promises. Paul was still gonna go. He was still gonna go despite the storm.

SPEAKER_01 41:49

God's presence does not, his presence does not prevent your hardships either, but it guarantees your purpose through it. Like I was saying earlier, just because you're saved don't mean it's all sunshine and rainbows at this point. No. And faith brings stability during chaos. If you are not stable, you need to go find yourself in the secret place before the Lord and say, Lord, I need your help. I can't make this through alone. I need you, Jesus. And no matter how bad your situation is, he will meet there. If you need healing in your body, if you need a breakthrough of some kind in your family, no matter where you are or what is going on with you, he will meet you in that place. Paul, the prisoner of the ship, became the leader pretty quick. Even if you're out there feeling like you're a prisoner in your own world right now, you can stand up for Jesus and become the leader real fast. Somebody needs to hear these words today. Everybody else is in panic mode. Paul is remaining calm because why? Because he trusted the Lord with the storm, he trusted the Lord with the word that was spoken to him, he trusted the Lord in all things.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

He trusted the Lord in all things. Storms are just a part of life.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

Even when we're following God's plans, we still face violent winds. We still face adversity. But God's promises remain steady. God's promises remain true. Always. His promises always remain true. Sometimes God does not calm the storm immediately. They went through it. I mean, Jesus, on the other hand, got up. Everybody was afraid. He says, Peace be still, and it all went. It all got quiet. Sometimes you just gotta go through it like Paul and the other two hundred and something people here. You gotta endure the storm, but he carries you through it and he uses your faith to stabilize not only you, but everyone who is around you. Be that solid rock for your family. Because you are solid in the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 44:37

If we would become more solid in Jesus, because of Paul's faith, about two hundred and seventy-six people survived. It's a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 45:01

One faithful person in the midst of a crisis changed the outcome for everyone around them. Are we willing to be so strong in our faith that we could begin to change people around us even in the midst of a crisis? That's the power of God being anchored. Being anchored in Him. That is the power of the Lord working in somebody who's been anchored. Are you a life that's anchored? We gotta ask ourselves that today. That's today's morning charge. Before you move on with your day, take a moment and let what you've heard settle into your heart. Faith isn't just something we talk about, it's something we live out in the ordinary moments of everyday life. Wherever today takes you, remember this. You don't walk into it alone. God is already ahead of you, working in ways you may not even see yet. Stand firm, walk in wisdom, lead with love, and don't forget who you belong to. Until next time, keep your heart anchored, keep your faith strong, and keep living out real talk, real Jesus, real life. We'll see you on the next morning charge.