By Daniel A. Collins
“Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.”
Acts 27:32
Every authentic follower of Jesus Christ can count on finding themselves in the proverbial storm of life at one point or another. The question then is not how will we respond if the storm comes, but how will we respond when the storm comes. Our tendency is to do everything in our power to escape the storm as quickly as possible. We do not like trouble, so we do everything we can to avoid it. What if the place where God is and wants us to be is right in the center of the storm?
In Acts 27, Paul is being taken by ship to Rome to testify to the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a fierce storm along the way, and just before the entire ship and crew find themselves on the island of Malta we see something remarkable in God’s word:
“But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.” – Acts 27:30-32
To experience God in His fullness we must be willing to cut away our proverbial lifeboat, which represents every way we perceive that we can save ourselves or change our circumstances in our own strength apart from God. This is why trials have the propensity to be life changing, not only for us, but also for those around us. It is in our weakness, our complete and absolute dependence on God, that we are strong. It is only then that He will manifest His power in our lives to change both us and the world around us.
