If You Get Out Now, You'll Perish

In one episode of Paul’s life we find out that he is being taken to a trial in Rome. He’s a captive prisoner and his opinion isn’t worth much. The winds weren’t favorable to the journey and yet the ship’s captain wanted to leave “Fair Havens” and winter in Crete. Paul gave his opinion that their journey was ill-fated and the ship and cargo would be lost. No one listened to him. “The centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship more than those things which were spoken by Paul.”

Well they left port and headed out on a calm day, but the storms blew in. In fact, this type of storm had a name: “Euroclydon” which basically means a typhoon. The ship was caught. They tried to anchor at Clauda but the sand was so roiled, it behaved more like quicksand than solid ground.

After many days of hard labor, Paul tells the crew to not be afraid because God has given him a sign that no one onboard would perish. There were a lot of people on board, 276 to be exact. No one was able to put much hope in his words because the winds continue to toss them about. After fourteen days, the crew was done. They wanted to get off the boat.

The crew decides to make a run for it. They are ready to get in a smaller boat and head towards land. Paul gives his opinion one more time. “Except ye abide the ship, ye cannot be saved.” After hitting the wall of unbelief so many times, this time they believe. Maybe, they are just too tired to argue with him so they listen.

Instead of leaving the ship they take a meal. No one has eaten much. Paul says there is hope and even though land hasn’t been sighted, they eat. Eventually, they find signs of a creek. They turn the bow towards this and run the ship aground. The waves beat incessantly and break up the stern. With boards loosened and water coming in, the people grab what they can and hold on. Everyone makes it to shore alive even as the ship and it’s cargo are lost.

I like the idea that we might have a belief barrier which prevents us from accepting new ideas from unlikely sources. I think that some experiences are so hard to endure that our barriers break down and we see new ideas as possibilities. Paul’s adventure highlights the interactions between one who is an outlier in what is possible. He cited God as a source for his knowledge. Everyone else was more aware of their physical senses and exhaustion.

It took a typhoon to break the belief barrier. And as the survivors walked or crawled onto sodden land, to their amazement, everyone was saved. If they had gotten into life rafts at the wrong moment, they would have died. By staying with it, they made it. There are times when it is best to stay in a tumultuous situation. Only God knows. Trusting him might mean ignoring a belief barrier, but it might just be the difference between life and death.