“Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.” (Acts 27:21-26)

The die has been cast; Paul is off to Rome. Yet, even though God had made it clear to Paul that we was to speak before Caesar, the journey was still treacherous, difficult, and long. The ship’s captain, ignoring Paul’s advice, chose to set sail early and push ahead despite the coming winter months (storm season). That lead to them getting caught in a big storm and being driven by the storm across the Adriatic Sea. They were in the middle of a catastrophe that would result in a major shipwreck.

In the middle of all that, Paul informs the men on the ship that no one will die; they will only lose the ship. God is protecting their lives and their journey. Paul will get to Rome. His comment in verse 25 sums it up perfectly – he has faith that God will keep His promise and Paul will make it to Rome. We know what Paul made it, but even though Paul knew what God wanted him to do, Paul still had to trust God on the journey – he hadn’t made it YET.

And that is the key: Paul still had to walk the journey, and even with the communication from God, the path was still dangerous. A favorite line that both Nita and I repeat to each other is that we are invincible until God calls us home. That is true and a helpful reminder to stay confident in God’s promises. Yet it does not relieve us from walking a difficult or dangerous journey. And we don’t have a guarantee that we will make it to a certain point, as we don’t know when God will call us home.

That, my friends, is faith. Walking the dangerous road with confidence that God will see us through – however long that journey may be – and be there to greet us on the other side. Whatever the difficulties are, whether it be health, relationships, finances, oppression, etc… we need to know (and remember) that God is walking that road with us and is always fully in control of the situation. That way, when you face the shipwreck, you can keep the faith like Paul and be the steady rock for everyone around you.

And that is when people see Jesus in you – when the road is at its worst and you are steadfast in your trust in God. When times are at their worst, God is preparing us to be at our best. He’s got this!