In Acts
27 we see how Paul handles a difficult situation of being a prisoner on a ship
in a storm. There are some typical
things that we tend to do when we go through difficulty:
They cut away the lifeboats to force everyone to
stay with the ship. Have you done that
in your marriage? Have you cut the life
boats lose so there’s no way out? Have
you said, “Divorce is not an option for us.
We’re going to make this thing work.”
Have you closed the escape hatch, locked it with a key and thrown away
the key. Divorce is not an option. If you haven’t, you’ll always be tempted to
walk out. If you don’t throw away the
key, you’ll never develop the character GOD wants you to have. It’s always easier to cop out than it is to
develop character.
First of all, difficulties can cause us to
drift and then they can cause us to discard.
Verse 18 (NIV), “...they began to throw the cargo overboard...”
Paul and the others are out in the middle of the
Mediterranean ocean and it’s been 14 days without any sunlight. They’ve been battered by the winds and waves
back and forth and they start throwing things overboard to lighten the
ship. First they threw the cargo overboard. Then it says they threw the tackle
overboard. Then the food. They were ready to throw the prisoners
overboard. They were discarding,
abandoning things they needed because the storm was so tough.
This is a common, human reaction to difficulty. When you get in a storm, a difficulty, a
trial, when the heat gets on and the pressure comes and the stress gets
unbearable, you tend to start abandoning things, values, relationships you
would not normally let go of in better times.
You hear “I'm throwing in the towel. I’m giving up on my marriage. I’m abandoning this relationship. I’m out of here. I’m checking out, chucking it all. I’m giving up on my dream to go to college,
to get married, to making this marriage work...” We start throwing out things we shouldn’t be
throwing out. Values, heritage,
relationships. We start throwing things
aside that we shouldn’t be throwing away.
It’s typical because we act impulsively.
GOD says, Stay with the ship. Verse 31 (NIV), “Paul told the centurion and soldiers, ‘Unless these men remain in the
ship, you cannot be saved.’ So the
soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's lifeboats and let them fall away.”
They cut away the lifeboats to force everyone to
stay with the ship. Have you done that
in your marriage? Have you cut the life
boats lose so there’s no way out? Have
you said, “Divorce is not an option for us.
We’re going to make this thing work.”
Have you closed the escape hatch, locked it with a key and thrown away
the key. Divorce is not an option. If you haven’t, you’ll always be tempted to
walk out. If you don’t throw away the
key, you’ll never develop the character GOD wants you to have. It’s always easier to cop out than it is to
develop character.
GOD can change situations, personalities. He can change you. But HE won’t if you’re always walking out the
back door.
He says, “Stay with the ship”. Don’t throw out the values you know are right
and important. Don’t abandon the things
you know you need in your life.
I’ve learned from personal experience that it is
never GOD’s will for me to run from a difficult situation. If you do, you will face it again later. GOD wants you to learn, to grow, to
develop. Stay with it.
Just a thought from the front porch…
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