²¹When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. ²²Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, ²⁴saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ ²⁵Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. ²⁶But we must run aground on a certain island.”

This extended account with such details reveals the fresh, excited memory of an eyewitness, who is part of the “we” (vss. 15, 18, 20). The reader can almost feel the violent rocking of the ship, sense the oppressive darkness, smell the unrelenting spray of salt water and its sting on the face, and ache with the hunger pains and thirst. Nothing can render a man more helpless than the power of water and wind.

Amid these very dire circumstances, Paul takes center stage and begins to speak to the crew. Whether this took place above or below deck, we do not know. But suffice it to say, they were not all sitting down at a table, drinking coffee as they conferred about what to do. No. The wind was howling, and their bodies would have been bracing against the rocking ship. Any objects still on board would have been heaving back and forth, with water sloshing everywhere, even below deck. In order to be heard, Paul must have been shouting.

Not shying away from saying, “I told you so,” Paul circles back to his earlier advice they had disregarded, to stay hunkered down in Crete. But despite their stubbornness, there is still hope. They had lost all their cargo and navigational equipment, and even the ship would be lost, yet none of those on board would lose their lives. While Paul had done much sea travel on his three mission tours, he was not a seasoned sailor. Yet he speaks with authority because he knows the promise God had made to him while he was in custody in Jerusalem (Acts 23:11), which was repeated to him that night. He was going to Rome, and this storm would not stop him. He would, without doubt, stand before the court of Caesar. Therefore, the protection that God was affording Paul would have spill-over benefits for the crew; neither would they die on this ship. So with the courage that God had challenged him to act confidently, Paul calls on the crew to also act courageously and not out of fear.

The promises of God are the key to living courageously, even when our circumstances turn against us. We walk by faith, for His Word is always true.

Lord, I commit to knowing and studying Your promises as recorded in the Bible.