“The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.”

Acts 27:20, (NLT)

In Acts 27, Paul and more than 270 other people were on a doomed ship, lurching in a hurricane, cold, sodden, hungry, sinking. Luke, who was there, wrote, “All hope that we would be saved was finally given up” (verse 20). The New International Version says, “We finally gave up all hope.”

The “we” seems to have included Paul. The cold battering of the storm and the uncontrolled tossing of the ship day after day was beyond human endurance. But Jesus was watching from heaven, and He sent an angel down to that ship to reassure Paul that everyone would be saved.

Paul’s strength and hope was renewed, and he stood tall and strong and encouraged the rest: “So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me” (Acts 27:25).

Our human spirits can only bear so much—so much cold, so much seasickness, so much fear, so much prolonged stress. But the same Jesus who cared for Paul and those other 270 people has His eye on you. He does not change. With Him is no change or possibility of turning. Though the ship actually ran aground, it did not sink nor was anyone lost to the sea. 

Though we may going through some rough times, know that God is watching and He will guide you. Because God is unchangeable, the God who provided and met the needs of the men and women of the Bible will meet your needs as well. Don’t lose hope!

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee. – Thomas O. Chisholm