It is amazing to me that the very next
scripture in my writings from Acts was this verse!
“’But now I urge you to keep up your
courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be
destroyed.’” Acts 27:22.
On his journey to Rome as a prisoner
to be tried before Caesar’s court, Paul received a word of encouragement from
the Lord. The ship that he was a
passenger on had been in a hurricane-like storm for days and was near
sinking. All hope of survival was lost
when Paul heard from the Lord. He spoke
this word to the crew and other passengers, telling them to be courageous, as
no lives would be lost. Only the ship
would not survive, but everyone on board would live. I get a sense of gratefulness in Paul’s words
to the crew and other passengers. Everyone
on board the ship would come out alive, and for that, they were grateful and
their minds were more at ease.
The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast US
was just hammered by the confluence of a nor’easter, a winter cold front, and
Hurricane Sandy, leaving billions of dollars in damage in her wake. It has been storming now for days, and I need
to remember this encouragement from Paul.
No electricity, no heat, limited food – all conveniences that we are
doing without, yet we are safe. We did
hear, however, that several people were killed as a result of the storm. When these conditions last for days, it can
be very discouraging and depressing. To
combat this, I try to stay busy, cut the downed tree in my yard (Thank you,
Lou!), exercise when I can, and spend time reading and praying. But this takes work, especially the tree
cutting. In order to keep up my courage,
I try to stay focused and have a grateful heart. For me, it helps to be grateful in times like
this, as it gets my focus off of the storms and onto the Father. I have so much to be grateful for! All of us do!
Questions to consider: Were you
impacted by Hurricane Sandy? If so, what
was that like for you? What do you focus
on when storms come into your life? What
are you grateful for? Take a few moments
to develop a list.
Prayer: Father, help me to always
have You at the top of my list of things I am grateful for. Thank You for always being with me during all
the storms I go through. Amen.
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