God Will Bring You Through
On his way to Rome, Paul—and 275 others—were shipwrecked. We can learn three important lessons from their story. First, that we must listen to God. If we don’t, we’ll experience heartache and loss: ‘...Paul warned them, “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss”… But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and… the majority decided that we should sail on...’ (Acts 27:9–12 NIV) Notice, being in the majority doesn’t make somebody right. Who are we listening to? Do they know God? Are they walking by faith or by human reasoning? Jesus said, ‘...he who receives whomever I send receives Me.’ (John 13:20NKJV) Second, the purposes of God will always overcome the plans of men and women. God can actually make mistakes work for our good. Through this shipwreck Paul landed on Malta and introduced the Gospel to its people. Instead of beating ourselves up over mistakes or arguing about who’s right and who’s wrong, try to see the hand of God in it. Finally, whatever we’ve lost, God can restore it. ‘[The people of Malta] honoured us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.’ (Acts 28:10 NIV) Don’t limit God. He will use people to bless us—people we haven’t even met yet. Jesus said, ‘Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.’ (Luke 6:38 NAS) Let’s be encouraged; God will bring us through!