1. The trip begins calmly
with no apparent difficulties. Sometimes in the journey of
life we also have periods when things seem to be going
calmly with no apparent problems on the horizon. However,
like the troubled waters of the sea, things can change in a
hurry in our journey of life.
2. Next, the winds became
contrary to obtaining the intended destination. Again we
can make a parallel to our journey of life when we encounter
troubled waters. They can come upon us rapidly.
3. Paul, through the
revelation of the Holy Spirit informed the centurion of the
dangers of proceeding on in the way and at the time they
were going. However, his counsel was not heeded by the
centurion who believed the counsel of others instead and
continued the journey across the troubled waters. When we
have the counsel and leadership of the God-called ministers
delivered to them by the Holy Spirit we need to take heed to
that counsel. However, far too often we neglect the counsel
and try to overcome the troubles in life by our own
devices. This leads often to much destruction in our lives.
4. Great troubles to the
ship and its occupants resulted from the failure to heed
Paul’s counsel. Likewise, often great troubles occur to us
and those around us when we fail to heed the counsel of
God’s word.
5. Thankfully, God is a
merciful God and we see the evidence of God’s mercy as he
revealed to Paul that no one would lose their life because
of the tempest. However, there would be a loss of the
ship. Likewise, God is merciful to us in our troubles as
well as he remembers us in our troubles and sometimes grants
us deliverance from the troubled sea of life.
6. God is able to use the
tempest in the troubled waters to bring about a blessing to
a people that those on the ship probably did not know
existed. This happened when the occupants of the ship were
cast upon a certain island.
7. In the occupants
journey across the troubled sea, some were plotting to
desert the journey to save themselves as the sailors were
about to do to the detriment of the other occupants.
Likewise, some who are traveling with us across our journey
over troubled waters of life, will seek to desert the
journey for their own selfish reasons. Even in our text,
the Lord was merciful and revealed their evil intentions and
stopped them to the deliverance of all the occupants on the
ship.
8. There came a time on
the ship that prayer and fasting needed to give way to
action. Paul admonished the occupants to desert their fast
and take food for their health and strength in the
deliverance that they were about to undertake. While prayer
and fasting are needful and necessary as we travel the
troubled waters of life, there is also a need to take action
when the time for action has come.
9. The occupants of the
ship looked for a way of deliverance and the way was shown
to them. Likewise, there are times when we need to be
looking for a way of deliverance and asking the Lord to show
us the way.
10. When the ship was
broken up the occupants of the ship either swam to safety or
else traveled to safety aboard the broken planks of the
ship. Deliverance often comes to us in the troubled waters
of our lives in different ways.
11. God kept his
promise that no lives would be lost, but the ship would be
destroyed. What a blessing it is when we may lose things,
but our lives are spared.
