TAKE HEART
ACTS 27:22-25
ACTS 27:22-25 NKJ
22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.
OBSERVATION:
Paul is talking to people who are stuck in a very bad storm. Paul had warned them earlier, but they did not listen. And after being in the storm for many days, they had all given up hope of making it out alive.
Perhaps this is why Paul admonished them to take heart twice. To take heart means to take courage, to be brave.
But there is more to Paul's message than a simple pep talk. He has reasons to be brave.
The first reason is no one will lose their life. They are going to lose the ship, but when you stop to consider it, they build new ships all the time.
An angel had appeared to Paul with a message of hope and deliverance. Angels do not often show up, but this was an extreme case, and Paul had already perceived that they were going to die. So, the angel's appearance gave the message a greater push.
And Paul made sure the men on the ship knew that it was an angel of the God of whom he, Paul, belonged to. The God he served. Not these idols that many on the ship bowed down to.
Paul could take heart because God's plan for him was to appear before Caesar. And God was gracious enough to save everyone who was sailing with Paul.
And finally, Paul could take heart because he believed God. He believed that what God said was going to happen.
The storm did not end immediately, but God saved everyone in the boat. Every person came out alive. And hopefully, some on that boat discovered Paul's God in the process. A real reason to take heart.
APPLICATION:
How can we take heart today? By believing some of the very things Paul believed.
We typically will not have angelic messages of hope, but we still have God's message in His word.
We can take heart as we believe we belong to God and serve God.
We can take heart because we believe God has a good plan for our lives. And if we follow Him, people around us, "on our boat," will be blessed.
We can take heart because we believe it will be done in our lives just as God has told us.