Paul Experiences a Storm and Shipwreck

After Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus later assigned Paul to bring the good news about him to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21). Jesus gave that mission to Paul because he possessed attributes that made him the best man for the job. 

Foremost, he was a devout Pharisees, therefore, he was well-informed about the Jewish faith, scriptures and Pharisaic movement. He would use that knowledge to convince Gentile and Jews everywhere of Jesus' divinity. 

He knew the inner workings of the Sanhedrin which he would use to get him out of a tight spot. Paul was Roman citizen which he would use to his advantage. He spoke Greek which enabled him to speak Gentiles outside Jerusalem who mostly spoke in Greek. 

Those attributes allowed him to travel and spread the good news outside Jerusalem. He made his first missionary journey across Asia which is modern Turkey and Greece. He was successful in his mission because of the advantages of his personal attributes.

During his mission outside Jerusalem, Paul converted a lot of followers to Jesus Christ through his teachings. However, because of the same teachings, he made a lot of enemies too, especially among the Jews in cities across Asia, Greece and Jerusalem who vehemently disagreed with his teaching. 

They wanted to kill him if they could get their hands on him. Paul managed to give them a slip most of the time because he was always forewarned.

When Paul went back to Jerusalem, Jews who came from Asia while visiting Jerusalem hurled accusations against him and his teachings. A riot broke out and some Jews even plotted to kill him. Paul was imprisoned and went through a series of trials by the Sanhedrin, the Roman Governor and King Agrippa. In those series of trials, Paul demanded to be tried by Caesar in Rome because he is a Roman Citizen.

Paul actually engineered that wish to be tried in Rome even though he could have been set free by the Roman Governor and King Agrippa. Paul used his Roman citizenship as his ticket to see Caesar. Actually, Jesus wanted Paul to go to Rome so that he can also preach the good news at the center of the Roman Empire - Rome (Acts 23:11).

Paul got his wish to be tried in Rome. Authorities decided to send Paul along with other prisoners by ship. From Jerusalem, the ship sailed and docked in several ports. When it reached Myra, the centurion guarding Paul put him on a connecting ship that will sail to Italy.

The connecting ship set sail for Crete and along the way encountered a violent storm. The storm battered the ship violently. There was the danger that the ship will run aground. The crew began to throw cargo overboard including the ship's tackle so that the ship won't sink. The whole story can be read in Acts 27 : 13 - 44. 

It was dark and neither sun or stars appeared and the storm continued to rage. They had all lost hope of being saved. They endured the violent storm for fourteen days.

Paul was the only soul onboard the ship who was calm. Everyone was frightened. Paul knew ahead that the ship would encounter the storm. They did not take his advice about it. Paul was confident everyone will survive. He obviously had guidance throughout the ship's perilous journey. 

On the fourteenth day just before dawn, Paul encouraged everyone to eat. He said that since everyone was in constant suspense and have gone without food, they haven't eaten any food. After Paul said those words, he broke bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. After, eating they all felt encouraged.

When daylight broke, they reached an island which they did not recognized at first. They ran the ship aground and swam to shore. Everyone, reached land in safety. That island was Malta.

Paul had all the help he needed for his missions. Jesus knew that Paul was the right man for the job. Since, he became an apostle, Paul relied on Jesus' leading and guidance which strengthened his faith.  Jesus was with Paul all the way to Rome. 

Throughout his missions, he was calm and brave because of Jesus' help. Even on that ship amid the violent storm, Paul drew his calmness and confidence in Jesus and he was certain that everyone will survive.

The recent surge of Covid-19 infections which is probably fueled by a more transmissible corona virus variant has stoked our fears once more. The surge is likened to a violent storm with the confluence of contributing factors. It has affected so many and has even reached close to our homes. Such heightened fear prevents us to think straight and oftentimes prevents us to do what's best in case the Covid-19 infection hits us.

Just like in the story of Paul on that ship in the storm, everyone was thinking irrationally. The crew wanted to leave behind the passengers and escape using lifeboats. The centurion and soldiers planned to kill all prisoners to prevent them from swimming away to escape. Everyone forgot to eat for fourteen days.

Paul snapped them out of their fear and encouraged everyone with physical and spiritual sustenance. They all made it safely ashore in Malta. In the same manner, let us follow the example of Paul when facing storms in our life especially the Covid-19 pandemic.

Paul relied on Jesus' help through prayer and faith which allowed him to be calm during the storm. Let us pray for Jesus' sustenance for our mind, body and soul to allow us to calmly face another Covid-19 surge so we can all think straight while we're in the middle of it.