Only Your Ship Will Be Destroyed

In my last blog I wrote about Paul and Silas reassuring their prison guard, "We are still here." It was a profound statement of faith in the One who would not only keep them, but bring the guard and his family to salvation as well, through their faithfulness. This week the Spirit spoke to me about Paul and the men in the ship that encountered a terrible storm at sea. Acts 27:14-22:

14Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster," swept down from the island. 15The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. 17When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. 21After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed."

"Do you see?" the Holy Spirit asked me. "Only the ship will be destroyed. What does the ship represent?" I meditated upon the question. They threw their cargo overboard. This means they got rid of all their possessions on that ship, even the grain and food that was heavy. Now they were lighter, free of baggage. But that did not entirely solve the problem. The storm continued to rage and it got so bad that they "gave up all hope of being saved."

It was then that Paul brought his great word of encouragement: "I urge you to keep up your courage because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed." Again, what does the ship represent? I believe it represents not only our material possessions and possibly even our homes, but our entire lifestyle of comfort and complacency. I believe that possibly very soon this will all be destroyed. The Lord warned me about this recently when I was sharing my home with a family of six for a month. When it began to feel "inconvenient" to me to be staying in my basement, Father whispered in my ear, "You DO realize you are living like most of the rest of the world don't you?" Indeed! We are some of the few people on earth who expect that each child in the family should have their own room, and everybody should have their own private space.

The Lord is preparing a people who are willing to give up these luxuries and comforts, and be willing to throw the cargo overboard. He is not going to destroy the faithful, who love Messiah Yeshua above all things. When neither sun nor stars have been seen for many days and the moon has turned to blood, some will have shed their baggage and all their extra food, trusting in the Holy One of Israel to keep them safe. To these He says, "Keep up your courage! Not one of you will be lost; only your ship will be destroyed."

Shabbat Shalom!