And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. — Acts 27:20
The idea of those summer thunderstorms continues to stick in my mind. Yesterday, I shared with you the thought about preparing for the storm. It’s when those storms are in the developing stage. You see them on the horizon, and you are preparing for them before they get to you. But just because you prepare doesn’t mean the storm doesn’t arrive.
Many times, it’s hard to see what type of storm it is going to be until you get in the middle of it. There are many times that I have seen meteorologists predict significant storms, and the storms end up being small. Other times, they predict a small storm, and it ends up being a major storm. Their predictions do not stop us from preparing, it’s just impossible to know what the storm will be until it is there.
The same goes for the storms we face in our lives spiritually. There are times that we see the storms, but they may be small. Perhaps it is something that doesn’t take much for us to get through. Other times, the storms seem like they will never end. At times, you may feel like Paul here, where the sun and stars don’t appear for days, and you see that this is no small storm that is on you.
It is in those moments that you may feel like all hope is lost. You may believe that you will not survive. But I love a statement by Paul later on in verse 25. As the storm rages and the fear rises, Paul declares to the men that everyone will survive and says these words, “I believe God.”
Sometimes it may seem like you will not survive the storm. But don’t lose hope, and don’t lose faith. Our God is an expert in navigating through storms. He has never once lost one of His own! If you find yourself trying to survive the storm, don’t forget the words of Paul. He trusted God, and you should too.
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