Articles
It Will Be Exactly As I Have Been Told – Acts 27:25
Today we finish up our reading of the book of Acts. However, here are some thoughts 'left over' from chapter 27.
It Will Be Exactly As I Have Been Told – Acts 27:25
As Paul was being taken to Rome by a ship, a huge storm engulfed them. All hope of being saved was abandoned. Then an angel appeared unto Paul and said: "Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you" (vs. 24). With such a word from God, Paul not only had hope, but confidence and conviction that they would be saved. He tells those on the ship to "take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told" (vs. 25).
Such faith in God's word is directly correlated with one's faith in God. Our God is the creator of all. As the creator, God is the sustainer and ruler over all the earth. In His hands are the very winds and storms. He can cause them to happen and he can withhold them.
Yet along with a conviction of God's power and rule, there must also be a conviction of God's integrity and righteousness. Paul would later write that 'it is impossible for God to lie" (Titus 1:2; cp. Num. 23:19; 1Sam. 15:29). God's word is sure and steadfast (Psa. 19:7) for God is sure and steadfast. God's word is truth (John 17:17) for God is true. God's word is trustworthy for God is worthy of trust.
In our dealings with God and His word, we must make sure that we understand what God has said. Many people put words into God's mouth and then are disappointed when such fail to materialize. It wasn't God's word that was in error, but the words and thoughts of men. God promised that His word "which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it" (Isa. 55:11).
When we have understood the message of God, then we must firmly trust it, even in the face of seeming impossibility. Sailors who had lived on the sea and knew about such storms had 'lost all hope'. What the situation appeared to be is not what God had promised. Hope is to be found not in our situations of life but in the promises of God.
God promised to provide salvation through the Christ – He did. God promised to raise up the Christ so that his body did not suffer decay – He did. God promised that those who believed and are baptized shall be saved – and they are. God promised that the dead in Christ would rise at the coming of Jesus – and the will. God promised that both the just and the unjust would stand before Him and be judged – and they will.
We, like Paul, must have faith in God that it will be exactly as we have been told. How strong is our faith?
Hugh DeLong
