22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.

 Acts 27 is an adventure story. This chapter of Acts relates to us the story of Paul’s final voyage to Rome aboard ship. The story is very detailed, giving the locations of cities, time frames, and weather conditions. As they sailed for Rome, the weather worsened and what turned out to be the wrong decision was made to continue sailing instead of harboring for the winter. After some time had went by and hope seemed to be gone, Paul stood up and made what I am sure was, to the ship’s company, an absurd statement. With the ship literally sinking around him, Paul said everyone would be spared.

 How could he say something like that? Knowing the circumstances they were in, what gave him the confidence to tell everyone aboard they would be alright? How could he be so sure about this? The certainty by which Paul spoke was the direct result of the relationship that he enjoyed. Paul testified of this relationship in v.23 when he said, “For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve”. Paul was no stranger to seeing the Lord move and work. He had been the beneficiary the work himself. So his statement in v.25, “for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me” was natural to make and easy to believe.

 What about each of who join Paul and say as he did in v.23, speaking of God, “to whom I belong and whom I serve”? What about each of us who struggle in areas of our lives? Is our natural reaction to believe and trust? When there is a financial need in our life, do we believe that it will be just as He has told us? When there is a relational or family issue in our life, do we believe that it will be just as He has told us? When we have a health issue in our life, do we believe that it will be just as He has told us? Take heart and believe.