Month: June 2024

“Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside meand 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.”

Acts 27:23-24 (NIV)

Paul’s guardian angel appeared and stood beside him, assuring him that God will keep all who are on the ship with him safe. Paul repeated the angel’s words to the Roman guards on the ship. They were all enroute to Rome, with other prisoners, to stand trial before Caesar. The ship was being pummeled by a violent cyclone storm on the Adriatic Sea, called a Northeaster. It was so bad that everyone on board was sure they would die. 

The storm lasted for days and after two weeks, no one had eaten, both from fear and seasickness. Paul took bread, prayed over it, blessed it, and gave it to everyone on board. The total number of prisoners and guards on that ship were 276 people. After Paul prayed, they ate, and were all encouraged.

The ship finally got wedged into a sandbar and wouldn’t move any further, meaning they would all have to swim a short distance from there to an island. The Roman guards decided to kill all the prisoners rather than risk that they would escape while under their authority. One centurion stopped them, because he wanted to save Paul, and probably came to trust in God, so no prisoners were killed. The mangled ship landed near an island called Malta. It was all part of the providence of God as circumstances will soon reveal. 

The natives of Malta were very hospitable and gave the shipwreck survivors food and shelter. Divine providence caused the ship to stop on the side of the island, owned by a wealthy man named Publius. It so happened that the father of Publius was very sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and, after praying, laid his hands on him and healed him. Publius was not only grateful, but believed. After this took place, the rest of the sick people on the island came to Paul and were all cured.

God obviously wanted Paul to evangelize the people of Malta, and that cyclone storm and shipwreck were part of His plan to get Paul to that particular side of Malta. In the process, Paul also evangelized all the people on the ship. It wasn’t by chance or luck that Publius decided to buy them every provision they needed to set sail again. 

God always has a plan during and after every storm. In Paul’s case, it was to lead him to people who needed to be healed and saved through faith in Jesus. God even had a plan on how to get the 276 people back to their original destination of Rome, by sending the wealthiest man on the island to provide for all their needs, in gratitude to Paul for healing his father. 

God not only had a plan, to lead Paul to the right people, at the right time, through the right circumstances, but He had great compassion on all the men aboard that ship, by speaking through an angel, to console them, promising no life would be lost, and it came true.

Sometimes God’s divine purpose is accomplished through frightening and upsetting situations. The guards almost killed every prisoner, but they didn’t. They could all have been lost at sea, but they were all saved. They were all in the perfect place at the perfect time for God’s perfect will to be done, to reach the people of Malta with the gospel. 

He also comforts us when we are in distress through the breaking of bread and prayer. He leads us to the right people, at the right time, through the right circumstances,  because He also has a plan for us after the storm. That is our God, so loving and compassionate, and He is still the same yesterday, today and forever. 

Lord, help us to trust your divine providence, and your perfect will, despite the storms, threats or shipwrecks of life. You are supreme, and almighty, yet full of compassion, and we place our lives in your hands. Amen

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

When the Lord spoke these words to Joshua, he was overwhelmed with his new responsibility to replace the  leadership of Moses, after he died.

Replacing Moses certainly seems like a formidable task. After the death of Moses, God spoke to Joshua many times. Many times God told Joshua to be strong, and that He was with him in leading the people to the promised land. 

After forty years of wandering across the wilderness, the Jordan River would be the final boundary to cross, in order to finally enter the promised land. The Israelites had the ark of the covenant with them, which was the gold covered chest, containing the sacred relics of Manna, Aaron’s rod and the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The ark represented the mighty presence of God who was with His people. 

God gave very odd but specific instructions, that only the priests from the priestly tribe of Levi were allowed to carry that ark of the covenant. In fact, they had to carry it without directly touching it, holding it with poles on each side, like handles. 

God told Joshua that as the priests  carried the holy ark of the covenant to the Jordan River, the moment their feet touched the edge of the river, the water would part. Joshua directed the people to do as God commanded. It was during the March-April season of harvest, right after winter rains and melted snow from the mountain filled the river to its highest point. 

God reassured Joshua that He would be with him in the same way He was with Moses. God told Joshua, 

“Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” (Joshua 3:7)

Joshua’s strength came in following every detail of God’s instructions. As his priests carried the ark, and their feet touched the edge of the Jordan River, it parted and the people walked across. Later his army encircled the fortified brick walls of Jericho, just praising God, and the walls collapsed on the seventh day.

All these amazing stories of scripture left historical evidence behind throughout the holy land. One of the most influential archeologists of biblical sites is Kathleen Kenyon, who found the actual ruins of Jericho, where those 13 ft. walls came tumbling down that day. 

The parallels between Moses and Joshua are amazing. As God parted the Red sea for Moses, He parted the Jordan River for Joshua. God  validated Joshua as a leader through that miracle, proving that He was with his leadership as He was with Moses’. 

Whatever we are going through, we can trust in the instructions that God has given us through Jesus and we can trust that God is saying to us, as He said to Joshua, 

“Be strong and courageous, for I am with you wherever you go.” 

We can learn something else in Joshua’s strength, that he also knew how to show kindness to strangers. Rahab was a harlot, who was not part of the Israelite community but lived within the city of Jericho. She heard of and came to believe in the God of the Israelites. She helped Joshua by hiding some of his spies, before they conquered the city. She asked Joshua for kindness and mercy in return, and Joshua gave orders to spare her and her entire family’s lives, when they invaded Jericho. Rahab had a turning point of faith and later married an Israelite man, and became a part of the genealogy of Jesus. 

Joshua had strength, but his strength increased by following the unusual orders given to him by God. He did everything God asked him to do despite how strange it might appear. The priests carried the ark of the covenant into the Jordan River, his army marched around the fortified walls of Jericho seven times, praising God. 

He showed kindness to a harlot, who was not a part of their people, but whose changed life later gave birth to the Messiah. Joshua’s strength came from believing God, and then obeying some strange requests, and in the end, God was glorified through it all.

God gave many unusual orders in the stories of scripture, but He put His strength within every person who would believe and receive those orders. He commanded His people to circumcise every male child on the eighth day of their life, and when He sent Jesus, He told us to believe in Him and be baptized in water. Then He told us to practice communion, doing it in remembrance of Him. By believing and receiving the instructions given to us by Jesus, we all have His strength within us. 

We learn from Joshua that it’s not always necessary to ask, hope for, yearn or beg for God’s strength. There is a time to just stand in the strength that He has already given us, follow His instructions and remember to show mercy and kindness to others. 

Lord, bless each reader today with a renewed sense of strength that has always been within us by abiding in Jesus and His commandments. Help us to show your kindness to others through this strength. Amen