Acts 27: 22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;28 And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.
If we’re ever living in stormy times, it is now. This country, this world, is falling apart. Luke accompanied Paul and is the writer of Acts. This storm was so bad it seemed it would tear the ship apart. The fog came in. The time was midnight. Verse 30 tells us that everyone was about to abandon the ship. It was that bad. Now is not the time for us to jump overboard. Stay in the ship. Be of good cheer. That’s what Paul told the people in the ship. He told them they needed to stay in the ship and everyone would be all right.
They cast out four anchors and wished for the day. They chose to believe God instead of the elements around them. Things are crazy, but I know a man named Jesus. I need to listen to him. Even if the fog is thick, let’s trust him. God will take care of us. We can’t put our trust in man. We must trust Jesus. He is the one who will get us through. Throw out the anchor of faith. The rock of Calvary is where we need to put that anchor. The Word of God is a good anchor. It will knock down all other books; the Word is truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Cast out the anchor of truth and live by it. Cast out the anchor of prayer: call on the Lord. Paul prayed and God answered. Before it was all done, everyone in the ship was praying. God heard their prayers.
I need your prayers. You need mine. Let’s keep our faith anchor, our prayer anchor, and the Word anchor. Then use the anchor of faithfulness. Remain faithful to God. Verse 44 tells us they all made it safely to land. The shore is coming into view. Cast out the anchors in Jesus’ name.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 