When in the storm, hungry, and cold, what would you do? Paul encouraged others. Read Acts 27. Paul was on a boat going to Caesar in Rome to be tried as a prisoner. They had been sailing for long and the storm came. Paul warned them that “our voyage is going to be disastrous with great loss to ship, cargo, and to our lives also.” But the centurion followed the words of the captain and owner of the ship instead. So they were shipwrecked. All the people in the boat were hopeless and hungry. Paul said: But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘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.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
Paul encouraged others as God encouraged him. His close relationship with God, his firm calling and passion for the gospel compelled him to persevere and embolden others. When life is not easy, we can be like Paul. God also calls to us. We can make Paul’s story our own:
Do not be afraid, Marlene. You must (fill in the blanks with the things I face that worry me, things that I must do for which I need courage, trials I must face for which only God’s grace can see me through). Remember how God has been gracious in the past. How do I encourage others with the encouragement that I get from the Lord. How can I comfort others with the comfort of God? This my friend is the way of a follower of Jesus – to be an encourager in the storms of life.
