In the book of Acts, during Paul’s voyage to Rome as a prisoner, he has a very difficult voyage. At one point Paul talks to the men on the ship and says, ‘“Men” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on – shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.” But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ships’ captain and the owner than to Paul.”’ (Acts 27:10-11) They continued on despite Paul’s warnings and found themselves in a raging storm for two weeks.
Near the end of this time “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. But we will be shipwrecked on an island.’” (Acts 27:21b-24)
All 276 men on the ship survived the wreck. They made it safely to shore on an island that welcomed them. During their time on the island, Paul was able to pray with many of the sick and they were healed. The working of God’s plan weaved through the details of his life is amazing. God was able to touch so many lives through Paul in the middle of terrible situations.
God had warned them all, through Paul, not to continue their journey. They didn’t listen and ended up suffering the consequences. They spent 14 days on the sea battered by wind and rain with very little food, loss of all the cargo on board, and ultimately the complete destruction of the ship. Yet, God in his goodness granted safety to everyone. (Acts 27:24)
How many times in our lives have we not heeded the warnings and continued on to suffer major consequences, but God in his goodness spared our lives? My life is littered with poor choices, but God in his goodness spared my life and turned it around for good.
When I think about the stroke, I remember so many poor lifestyle choices leading up to it. Most of my life was spent overweight or on a roller coaster of weight loss and gain. This was of course accompanied by poor eating and exercise habits. I rarely went to the doctor. I worked late at night and got up early with little sleep. I regularly drank 5 cups of coffee a day just to stay awake. Yet, God brought me through the stroke and completely healed me. The report from my last MRI was that the area of the brain that the stroke occurred in was unusually recovered and barely visible.
The experience enabled me to speak to a lot of people about it. I write about, talk to others, and because of it, God is now a very prominent part of my business story. Before I did not want to offend anyone by mentioning God, but after the stroke that changed. I was reminded of the story of Peter’s boat that Jesus used as a platform to speak to the crowd. God showed me with this passage of scripture that my business could and should be used as a platform for Him. (Acts 5:1-11).
There are so many bad decisions we have all made, but in God’s grace He watched us through the shipwreck of our own making and brought us out safely on the other side. If you have time, read Acts 27. I was so struck by God’s grace through the details of the storm, shipwreck, and the passengers swimming ashore on a welcoming island.
God has been so good to me when I least deserve it. He turned bad situations into good many times (Romans 8:28). Those times became part of my testimony. He has done the same for you and will do it in the future. God wants to make it part of your story and your testimony to reach others for Him. “And they overcame him [satan] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony…” (Rev 12:11a). Do not let the shame of your bad decisions cause you not to share God’s goodness with others. This is part of God’s ultimate plan.
Verse 10 in that same chapter of Revelations calls satan “the accuser of our brothers”. That is what he does, he constantly accuses us of the wrong we have done and uses it against us to try to keep us from sharing God’s truth with others. His goal is to keep us quiet because he knows when we open our mouths to share God that others will come to know Him!
Even now I struggle with this because I have gained over 80 pounds since the stroke. It makes me want to hide in embarrassment. I feel so much shame that I am hesitant to speak out about what God has done because of how poorly I am treating my body in response! This is a deep internal struggle.
Yet, I do know that God’s plan is just the opposite. He wants me to speak out. Satan’s plan is for me to keep quiet. I DO NOT want to be a part of satan’s plan. So, by God’s grace and with His strength I am speaking out now. I do believe He can and will help me with this struggle and that this is part of bringing the darkness into the light. Not only for me but for others too I feel certain.
He wants to do the same for you! What are you struggling with? What has He brought you through? I would love to hear your story. Never underestimate the power of telling others what God has done. God has spoken to my heart so many times just by hearing others stories.