Anchored in Christ
Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. Acts 27:21-25 It is one thing to say that you believe in God and it is another thing to follow through in your belief. Most people claim that they believe in God, yet will not take any action following God and to trust His word. From the text, the Apostle Paul provided a timely encouragement to those with him in the ship. Rather than giving in to the fear of all those that are with him, Paul placed his hope in God. We become aware of God’s presence through His word and the Holy Spirit living within. Remaining alert to His presence in us should provide courage and strength in the midst of the storm. Since we have the written word of God, there is no reason to continue in unbelief. Trust God in His word. From the Old Testament, Hezekiah, king of Judah, lived in a dangerous and unbridled time. Idolatry was the popular religion of the day. Unbelief influenced his parents that they rejected God, yet Hezekiah chose to believe God with all of his heart. His belief prompted him to worship God. He called on the people to do the same, offer their worship to the One true God. His decision to follow God, thus, go against popular opinion was a manifestation of how strong his belief was to God. God will honor the heart that commits to believe and follow Him. “And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success” (2 Chronicles 26:5). When we are anchored to God’s presence and His word, we will display amazing courage in the worst storms. And just as important, when we are thus anchored, we can sustain others, just as Paul did. The surest way to succeed in your actions is to believe God and diligently pursue His will for your life.
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
