Port in a Storm

I was reading Acts today, and I came across a familiar story.

In Acts 27, Paul is being taken to Rome in a prison transport. In the process, a storm rocks the ship for days, and when the boat’s crew and the soldiers have given up hope, they come upon an island and are shipwrecked. To make matters worse, the boat gets stuck on a sandbar and they have to swim to safety. In the middle of a storm. Just another little thing to wreck your day.

Sounds familiar, right? We’ve all heard this story at some point. Paul prisoner. Storm at sea. Shipwreck. Big whoop.

Then I thought about how I’d react in that situation. My faith would be shaken the second they threw cuffs on me. By the time I was getting soaked on a boat in the Mediterranean, I’d be wondering if this Christianity thing was worth it at all.

Then I thought about how I react to a bad day at work. If I have to work long hours or a coworker pisses me off, I tend to sulk and get really bitter. “When will this garbage end?” “Why isn’t God stopping this?”

Dude, I feel like such a baby.

Even when I was at a legitimately terrible job, I had no right to complain. God was still there. I was in complete and utter despair for months, and I was mad at God for not getting me a new job as soon as that one turned awful. Now it’s over, I’m better for having gone through it, and I’m glad that I had the chance to face it.

It’s so funny what a limited point of view we have. I find myself miserable if I have a bad DAY. Paul was in jail, spent endless days at sea in a storm, and he never lost his faith. His lunch maybe, but not his faith. No Dramamine back then.

It’s inspiring to see examples of faith in extreme situations, because compared to getting shipwrecked, having a long day at work doesn’t seem so bad. A day, a month, a year, it may take time, but God isn’t going anywhere. It’s not like he left and bad things are happening. He’s there and he’s shaping you through whatever’s going on.

Here’s a thought. God won’t put you through anything you can’t handle.

The next time I’m going through a trial, I’ll imagine complaining to Paul about it. See if he’d be impressed.