I Believe God

ByJim Stephens

Scripture: Acts 27

23 “…For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, 24 and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ 25 So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. 26 But we will be shipwrecked on an island.” (Acts 27:23-26 NLT)

Paul was a brilliant and educated man. He had read extensively and traveled widely. He was about as cosmopolitan as a man of his generation could be. But Paul had a simple faith. If God communicated something to him, he believed what God said, and then thought, spoke, and acted on that revelation. God told Paul that he would stand before Caesar and tell his Jesus story and, for Paul, everything between the present moment and that event was just detail. What God said truly was Paul’s reality!

The ship would wreck! Where would the ship wreck? On some island or other. Don’t worry about it, it’s just detail! A venomous snake would fasten on Paul’s hand as he gathered wood for a fire on a rain-swept beach. Don’t worry about it, it’s just detail. The shipwreck survivors would spend three winter months on the island of Malta. Don’t worry about it, it’s just detail! But it’s also just three months of opportunity to bless others as they waited for a ship to take them to Italy. Paul believed God, the rest is just detail!

Paul’s faith inspires me and challenges me! I get too bogged down in the details. I focus too much on the possibility and danger of a shipwreck and forget that I’m on my way to do what God has purposed for me. I’m sometimes inclined to lose the destination in the details.

What has God said to you? Will you believe his word? Choose to believe God today!

Prayer:

Father, I can’t make my faith stronger. I can only believe what you tell me and receive the gift of faith. Please fill me with your Spirit and let me live a life that is so focused on the destination that everything else is just detail. I want to live in the moment and encourage others to enjoy the meal they’re eating, gather wood for the fire, use my gifts to heal and help, and keep my heart focused on the destination. I believe you will do exactly what you said you will do. Please help me position myself by faith to be where I should be, when I should be there, and to simply and fully do my part. The outcome is in your hands. Amen.