How many times have you made plans, and then God changed them? Have you ever gotten to a point where you thought, “Should I even make plans?” Well, you should, but you should always say, as James counseled us, “if the Lord wills” (see James 4:13-15). It’s a good way to think.
I write this to point you to Acts 27, where Paul was a prisoner aboard a ship on the Mediterranean Sea bound for Rome, along with 275 other people. They encountered a storm, a typhoon-force gale that rendered the ship uncontrollable. They couldn’t see the stars for weeks, so they didn’t know where they were or where they were going.
Now, Paul probably didn’t anticipate that storm, but he knew he was in the will of God, and it was confirmedโeven during the storm.
The Lord had different plans for the apostle in that storm. And Paul was calm through all of it, because he knew he was in God’s will, and that all those aboard the ship would be safe, because the Lord revealed it to him in a vision one night (see Acts 27:22-26).
Paul had warned them not to go (v. 10), but the captain decided to go anyway, and they got into trouble. And Paul said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss” (v. 21). Then he encouraged them and told them, “You’re going to be safe. Everybody on board, if you stay on this ship, will survive.”
Paul sort of took charge. He went from captive on the ship to captain of the ship. When some of the men wanted to take the skiffโthe little dinghy aboard the big shipโand escape at night, Paul said, “Unless you stay in this boat, you’re going to die. God will get you to land, but you have to stay on the ship” (see v. 31-34).
And, you know, that’s good counsel for us. “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). One of the hardest things we have to do in life is to wait on the Lord. You know it’s true. We hate to wait on the Lord. But let me encourage you to do just that.
When things don’t go our way, we want to jump ship. “The marriage isn’t going my way; I’m going to jump ship.” “The job isn’t going my way; I’m going to jump ship.”
Noโstay put for a while. If you don’t have a clear green light from the Lord, then see it as a red light for now (or at least a yellow light). Slow down. Hold your horses. Stop. Wait. And then when it turns green and the Lord shows you, “This is where I want you to go,” then go.
I have learned that lesson painfully on so many different occasions. Don’t jump ship. Stay aboard.
After they had lightened the ship as much as they could, they ran it aground on an island. The storm destroyed the ship, but everyone on board escaped to the land. “Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta” (28:1). Interestingly, the word malta is a Phoenician term that means “escape” or “refuge.”
I don’t know why the storm happened like that or why it took Paul so long to get to Rome with such difficulty. Of course, Paul performed many miracles on Malta (see Acts 28:1-10), and undoubtedly preached the gospel.
All I know is, God is good at changing our plans. Looking at Paul’s experience, we could say that when God sends you into a storm at sea, he sends lifeboats. He provides a “way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
So, don’t jump ship. Stay until God gives you clear guidance.
