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I'm The Victim Of Another Man's Wrong Decision

Are you presently experiencing the "storm of your life" which you did nothing to deserve?
Perhaps you are in a "mess" right now that was caused by someone else's disobedience and rebellion.
What do you do? How do you ever recover from it all?

The Apostle Paul also experienced adverse circumstances as a result of someone else's wrong choice.
What did he do? How did he recover from it all?
May God use this message to supply the tools that you need to bring you through to victory.

Acts 27 gives an account of Paul's horrendous experience while out at sea. He was enroute - in the perfect will of God - to Rome to appear before Caesar.

On his way, however, some things happened which should never have taken place. They were the result of others not heeding the Word of Warning from the Lord. Consequently, Paul found himself in circumstances totally out of his control. Yet, in spite of it all, we see that God had a plan for his life that man and the devil could not thwart or abort.

We read such phrases in the opening of Acts 27 in order to get a background of what was happening in the Apostle's life at the time -

"And when it was determined that we should sail unto Italy..."
"And entering into a ship of Adramytium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia..."
"...we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary."
"...we came to Myra...And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein."

Governor Festus had ordered that the Apostle Paul be taken to Rome to appear before Caesar after appealing to him in his defense. Along with "certain other prisoners" who were all under the command of Julius, "a centurion of Augustus' band," he boarded "a ship of Adramytium" which was not actually expected to sail all the way to Italy.

Enroute, in order to make the voyage less difficult and dangerous, they sailed along the coast of Cyprus in order to break off the violent, opposing, southwest winds found in the open sea. After awhile, they boarded a different ship - "a ship of Alexandria" - which was a large ship, carrying great quantities of wheat from Alexandria, Egypt, to Rome.

"And when we had sailed slowly many days..."
"And hardly passing it..."
"Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous..."

Here we get a picture, depicting great danger to all the passengers on the ship. Things were getting "pretty scary" for all.

The western winds were contrary, and the vessel was heavy laden with wheat and passengers. In order to avoid wreckage, they kept sailing near - "under" - certain places in order to break the force of the violent winds. They were now surrounded by great danger.

It was at this time that Paul gave a Word of Warning to all - "...Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives."

It just happened to be the time of the Great Day of Atonement which occurs in the Seventh Month - the latter end of September. How do we know this? Because Luke, the writer of Acts, mentions - "...because the fast was now already past..." At this particular season, any type of navigation of the Mediterranean area was extremely dangerous due to the tempestuous storms.

Paul knew this because of the Holy Spirit's instruction and also through his own personal knowledge of the sea which intimated that sailing at the time of the autumnal equinox was very hazardous. Hence, he endeavored to strongly persuade those in charge to remain for a time where they were stationed in order to avoid risking injury, damage, and harm to all.

Did those in charge of the voyage heed Paul's warning?

No, not at all!

The Scriptures tell us - "Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul."

The "master" was the pilot of the ship who had charge of steering it along the dangerous coasts. He was under the direction and command of the captain. The captain was the "owner" who had command of the crew and ship.

Both of these men, being the authorities that they were, totally disregarded Paul's Word of Admonition, saying that there was no danger ahead for the crew. The "centurion" who had the authority and power to order the ship to proceed or go into port, heeded the advice of both the "master" and "owner" and commanded the ship to proceed further on its voyage.

What was the result of their decision?

"But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon."
"And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind..."
"...and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands..."
"And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest...lightened the ship..."
"And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away."

At first, it looked as though Paul really "missed" it as far as a word of direction went. Things were going along smoothly when all of a sudden, the crew of this ship met up with "Euroclydon," a type of violent hurricane, known to abound in the Mediterranean area. Resultantly, the ship was seized by the strong and turbulent winds and was driven with such violence that it became totally unmanageable.

Facing "quicksands" and being "exceedingly tossed with a tempest," they began casting out part of the cargo - anchors, sails, cables, and baggage. Seeing neither the sun nor the stars for days, it wasn't long before all "hope" of their lives being saved was gone.

It was at this time when Paul reminded them of the Word of Warning that he previously delivered but they totally disregarded - "...Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss."

How does all this apply to you and me?

Perhaps, at this time, you are feeling like the Apostle Paul. You, too, had a Word of Warning from the Lord for your spouse, child, Pastor, Church, Ministry, Board, Family, Coworkers, Boss, Friends, etc. which went unheeded for someone else's "more positive" counsel. As a result, you and your spouse, family, church, ministry, or job force are experiencing the worst storm imaginable.

You tried to warn others of the devil's schemes and plans, but no one would heed your Word of Admonition. You pleaded with others to listen to you, but no one would pay attention to what you were saying at the time.

Now, you, along with the others, are facing a spiritual "Euroclydon" of your own.
You are experiencing "quicksands" where there seems to be no hope of ever finding solid ground to stand on.
You feel as though your spiritual ship is being tossed with a tempest that will bring much damage and hurt to all.

Like the Apostle Paul, you feel like saying to everyone involved - "...ye should have hearkened unto me...to have gained this harm and loss."

Here you are - an innocent party, just trying to be obedient to the Lord, deliver a Word of Warning, and end up gaining "harm and loss" in the end.

It just doesn't seem fair.

It wasn't fair for the Apostle Paul either.
If only they would have listened to him, they would not have "gained this harm and loss."

It seems so unfair that, due to your obedience to God in delivering the Word of the Lord, all you gained was "harm and loss" - not because of your disobedience, but because of other's failure to heed the Word of Warning from God.

What should you do now that you find yourself facing "quicksand," horrible spiritual tempests and storms likened unto the worst hurricanes, darkness, loss, and hopelessness?

What did the Apostle Paul do? Did he become bitter toward the "centurion" for listening to the "master" and "owner" rather than himself? Did he play the "Blame Game" and point his finger at the guilty parties before all of the crew?

He did let them know that they should have listened to him for he had the Word of the Lord. But it is implied, that he rode through the storms on his knees.

How do we know this?

Because the Grace of God was all over Paul during the entire voyage. He maintained a right spirit, causing him to once again hear from the Lord and deliver a Word of Encouragement and Hope to a totally hopeless situation - "And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship."

If you find yourself in a terrible spiritual hurricane as Paul did, then ride out the storm on your knees, crying out for the Grace of God to see you through it all. The Lord Jesus will keep your heart and spirit free from all bitterness, resentment, and hatred toward those who failed to heed your Word of Warning. Even though you may suffer loss and experience great pain and sorrow, God will enable you to hear the Word of the Lord and speak it once again - only this time, it will be a Word of Hope to a totally Hopeless situation.

Know that, in spite of the horrific storms that Paul experienced, he still made it to Rome - God's destination for his life.

The devil would make you to believe that your life, marriage, family, Church, ministry, job situation, etc. is ruined as a result of someone else's wrong decision or choice. Don't believe him for one second.

Just like Paul, God will get you to His designated place of destiny.

Realize today that He is BIGGER than any assignment of the devil to hinder His plan for your life.
He is bigger than the mistakes, failures, or disobediences of others that would directly or indirectly affect your life and destiny.

Oh, Child of God! Ride out the storm on your knees.
Cry out every hour - if need be - for the Grace of God to keep you afloat.

You can be assured of one thing - you will make it to your "Rome."
God will see to it!

May God Bless His Word.
Connie

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