Quick Note – Acts 27:25

Acts 27:25 – “So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.”

The context of our passage today finds Paul on a ship to Rome as a prisoner awaiting trial from Caesar.  On this journey to Rome, he had already warned the centurion and his fellow shipmates to stop sailing and to winter at a specific area for threat of life.  But not listening to Paul, the centurion decided to go on further only to be met by a life-threatening storm.  After a couple of days, when hope began to be lost by the crew of surviving, Paul made this statement to the whole ship – “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss.  Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.  For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar.  And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’”  He then followed up that promise with his statement of faith in God – “I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.”  Paul trusted that God would fulfill His promise to him to save the lives of all on the ship, for from his experience, Paul had always found God faithful.  He knew how God kept every promise in the Old Testament and fulfilled it in His Son.  Paul knew how God was faithful in providing and protecting him throughout his missionary journeys.  Paul knew how God was faithful to keep all His promises.  He had seen and known the character of God and trusted Him to be as faithful as He had always been.  Although he had seen many close calls and many situations of persecution that he did not understand, Paul knew that God in His time would always do what was best for His children.  So using this statement in vs. 25, he called others to trust in God as well.  We as Christians have been given tons of promises in God’s Word – a treasure trove of them.  Although not all may be fulfilled right before our eyes or even in our lifetime, we can trust God to be faithful to do exactly as He had promised.  Abraham trusted God to make him into a large nation though he had no children at all, and now he is considered not only the father of Israel but also of the Gentiles who would place their faith and trust in Christ.  Joshua trusted God to help the people of Israel conquer the Promised Land, and they did exactly that.  God is always faithful; let us, like Paul, trust Him to do exactly as He has promised.