The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Acts 27:42-44,
“The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.”
The centurion that was responsible for escorting Paul to Rome was from a military unit called the “Imperial Regiment”. His name was Julius and had demonstrated kindness to Paul from the beginning of the trip. When they boarded the first ship and got to Sidon we are told, “Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.” Not that Julius was “in Paul’s pocket” so to speak, as we read that he listened to the advice of the ship’s pilot and owner instead of Paul when Paul warned them against continuing on their trip when they arrived at Fair Havens.
Yet, Julius wanted to spare Paul’s life when the ship was wrecked and prevented the soldiers from killing the prisoners, which included Paul. Was it just fortunate for Paul that he happened to have had a guard that was concerned for his safety? It certainly was fortunate, but it wasn’t mere fortune from the standpoint of luck that Julius was concerned for Paul. During the storm, as the ship was being blown across the Mediterranean an angel of the Lord appeared to Paul who told him, “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” God provided Paul a guard that would insure Paul arrived in Rome for the Lord’s own purposes.
The Lord has his own agenda and carries out what he desires. As a part of the Lord’s agenda, Paul had an assignment from the Lord and as such the Lord would provide all Paul needed in order to accomplish that assignment. As I read the book of Acts I see over and over how the Lord not only includes people in the things he does, but also provides what is needed. I have to say I don’t see the Lord providing Paul with a nice house, a fancy car, that special job promotion at work, a wonderful marriage or even relief from the sniffles. I see Paul on mission from God and it is just fascinating to see how the Lord provides what is needed to carry out that assignment!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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