No Sun, No Stars

Acts 27:9-20 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest. 13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. 17 When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
 
PAUL was only a prisoner, so we can understand why the ship’s owner, pilot and the centurion did not listen to his advice to stay in the safe harbor. But each day on the sea in winter exposed the ship and its inhabitants to extreme weather. Then it came.
   We can’t imagine the effort to wrap ropes around the tossing ship. How could one cope with the violent, unrelenting winds that blocked the sun and the stars. We understand why they gave up all hope of being saved.
   All the sailors’ skill, strength and knowledge was useless against the hurricane winds. Who could survive such a storm?
   For his purpose, God has created such storms at other times. The storm raged when Jonah ran from God (Jonah 1:4). When Galilee rolled and pitched their small boat, the disciples cried, “Lord, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mak 4:38). God used the storm to turn Jonah back to preach to Ninevah. He used the storm to awaken the disciples to Jesus’ sovereign Majesty. What would God do with this storm?