Title: When You Meet the Storm of Life
Contents
When you meet the storms of life
(Acts 27:9-26)
As we go through life, we sometimes encounter various storms such as health, family, human relationships, and material problems. Most of them give up when they encounter a storm. However, there are people who use storms to make their lives happier. The reason people met the storm in today's text is because they did not listen to Paul's prayer. God's community should not be moved by majority vote, but by God's word and prayer. Today's sermon tells us the secret of recovery when we meet a storm.
What should you do when faced with the storms of life?
1. You must understand the cause of the problem / Verse 21.
In today's text verse 21, Paul said, "The reason we met a storm is that we didn't want to leave, but we met a storm because we left." The problem was that he did not listen to Paul, the servant of the Lord who was praying, and decided to sail by a majority vote according to his own desires. Those who have believed in people and have been at a loss should know that they depended more on people than on God. Those who have suffered financial loss must realize that they have not become God's stewards. We need to examine whether we have served God well with material things. When you are doing what you are praying, you should look back on whether you have received God's guidance.
2. We must boldly forsake what we throw away / Verses 18-19.
When a storm occurred, the sailors on board threw away tools and luggage. The boat should be light. Risks to ships and dangers to lives must be boldly given up. The thing behind is to forget and move forward.
3. It is faith / Verses 23-25
We must have faith to overcome problems and overcome the world. All problems are solved through faith. In today's text too, the problem was solved through faith.
So, specifically, what kind of faith did the apostle Paul have?
1. It is faith with a clear sense of belonging to God / Verse 23.
2. It is faith to believe that the Lord is always with you / Verse 23.
3. It is faith that is answered through prayer/Verse 24.
4. It is faith to believe the word of God as it is/verse 25.
Conclusion. When you encounter storms in your life, you must first understand the cause of the problem. And I hope that we can overcome those things that we dare to throw away, have absolute faith in God, have a clear sense of belonging like Paul, believe that the Lord is with us, that God will answer our prayers, and that we have faith in the Word as it is.