| I told you so! |
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| (Acts 27)After his trial with Festus and his testimony before Agrippa, Paul set sail on his journey to Rome under guard of a Roman centurion. Because of the winds and bad weather, the trip was taking longer than expected. Paul warned his escorts (verse 10), "Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” He was ignored and the ship company encountered increasingly bad weather. Luke writes that they had “finally [given] up all hope of being saved.” Paul stands before them and gives what begins as an “I told you so!” (verse 21) “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.” We’re probably used to this. Have you ever told someone, “I told you so?” Generally, we use these words to reinforce our own importance or right-ness. We rub it in and drone about how we’re right and their wrong. However, rather than giving in to a selfish response and rubbing it in, Paul used this as an opportunity to reinforce his mission and to give glory to God. He follows by offering encouragement to his guards and escorts (verse 22), “But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.” Then, he gives God the glory (verse 23, 24), “… an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul.” In his response he reinforces his mission and God’s sovereignty (verse 24), “You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.'” Paul then closes with more encouragement and demonstrates his faith (verse 25), “So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” Note as this passage continues, the ship company would have to still deal with the consequences of their ignoring Paul initially. Paul said (verse 26), “Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island." As the men began to experience the consequences, they looked for their own solutions to the problem. They were still struggling with faith. Paul re-communicated his vision providing the men assurance if they stayed with the ship (verse 31), “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." The men were beginning to trust Paul. Paul again encouraged them, and as he ate with them, he again demonstrated the importance of God in his life (verse 34-35), “’Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.’ After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all.” The ship company saw the fulfillment of Paul’s vision. The ship was destroyed, but “everyone reached land in safety.” (verse 44) Paul had every “right” to be vengeful. Sometimes, we feel as though we have rights to be vengeful or that people who have wronged us, “get what they deserve.” How much better for us to right the wrongs done to us by seizing the opportunity to demonstrate the power of Christ lived out in our lives. Use every opportunity to provide encouragement, to point people to God, to stay on our mission, and to demonstrate our faith. |
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