Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them, “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.” But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.

• Acts 27:9-12

Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 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. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether there were 276 of us on board. When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

• Acts 27:33-38

Dinah Washington, and many others, sang a song, What a Difference a Day Makes. Twenty-four little hours.  The first comparison is that we have sun and flowers, where yesterday, we had rain.  Of course, the man that she loved came through the door and told her that he loved her.  So the difference was the one she loved.

But the title of this post is What a Difference a Storm Makes.  They knew the passage from Fair Haven to Italy was dangerous at the best of times, for this season of the year.  But in a harbor not equipped for sitting out the winter, the centurion demanded they go to Rome.  Paul said there was going to be a terrible storm.  They would not make it.  But Paul was a prisoner.  The centurion listened to the pilot and the ship’s owner.  They set sail.

Did the centurion really have any choice?  Yes, he did, but he felt like he did not.

When I was in the army, one of the classes that I attended brought up the idea of the “idiot” commander.  The instructor said, “Some of these days, the commander is going to tell you to do something that is beyond foolhardy.  He is going to tell you to do something that only an insane fool would ever try.  You know that if you do it, or try to do it, you might not survive.  But at that moment, you should not reply, ‘What an idiot you are!’  The reason is that your ‘idiot’ commander’s ‘idiot’ commander told him to send people to do this idiotic thing.  Yes, there will be people that do not go home to their families, but if you do not send people to do it, many more lives will be lost.  So, your ‘idiot’ commander was given a coin, and your little band of loyal men, who you know by name, who would do anything for you because they trust you, came up with the task.”

Yeah, I can see the centurion’s commander telling him to be in Rome before Spring or you will be cleaning latrines for the rest of your days in the army.  He sided with the pilot and the owner.

The pilot and the owner were motivated in their decision by greed.  If the cargo does not get to Rome in time for the Spring festivals, half the food supplies will spoil, and the rest of the cargo will fetch half the price.  Imagine getting 2024 New Year Party Glasses today (The ones you wear or the ones you pour champagne into – whichever you choose)!  You would receive nothing for your effort.

I use the champagne flutes as an example in that my boss got an engineering problem from a glass maker.  They wanted to be able to ask for a higher price.  My boss asked a couple of us into the room.  He explained the process and then we brainstormed for a while.  For my effort, I received a couple of champagne flutes with the year forming the stem.  Only problem, the year is now more than twenty years old.  But knowing how I received them; I still use them.  But selling them on the open market?  No one would want them, unless that was the year they were married, and they might like to make an anniversary toast.

So, the centurion had orders to follow, or possibly die, and the owner would lose a fortune, and the pilot might lose his job.  All versus a prisoner who talked “crazy” talk.

But then comes the storm.  By the time the second Scripture comes up, they have thrown the cargo and the ship’s tackle overboard.  They have run ropes beneath the hull to simply try to hold the ship together.  The sailors pretended to monkey with the lifeboat, but Paul said that if anyone escapes the boat, they will not be saved.  The soldiers cut the lifeboat free, and it floated away.  And then their soundings showed they were approaching shallow waters.  They feared the rocks would rip the boat apart.

Do we ever hear from the ship’s owner after he said to set sail?  No, he was in his office on the ship figuring out how to return home to his family.  Everything he had was lost.

Do we ever hear from the ship’s pilot after he said to set sail? No, without a ship, he has no job.

But we do hear from the centurion.  Julius, the centurion, tells his soldiers that whatever Paul says, we do what the wise man of God tells us to do.

The good news is that all 276 people on board reach the island of Malta alive, and when the storm breaks, they make it to Rome. The Book of Acts does not say, but maybe the ship’s owner and the pilot became sailors on that part of the journey.

Then, I wonder if another lesson from my military days is how the book of Acts ends.  After all of their hurrying, Paul’s case does not go before Caesar for another two years.  Was it rushing for nothing?  Or as the military always said, “Hurry up, and wait.”

But what about us?

Are you a storm Christian or an everyday Christian?  Do you pull God out of your pocket, like a rabbit’s foot, when times get hard, or do you trust in God daily?  Note: If you have a rabbit’s foot in your pocket, how lucky was that foot for the rabbit?

I have, on occasion, been that storm Christian.  In the storm, my focus is riveted on the word of God.  If I slip to the left or right, all is lost.  But when the storm is over, I relax.

Remember the song, What a Difference a Day Makes.  What made the difference today for the singer?  The one the singer loves had arrived.  God is already here.  Do we need a storm to rage before we turn to Him?

But this entire life is a storm.  Whenever we think we are in a spot where we can relax, we are simply in the eye of the storm.  And soon, very soon, the wind will hit us from the opposite direction, and it will blow harder than it ever did before.

But our attention span is so horribly short.

If we could only keep our eyes on Jesus…  Wow, that is such a pretty flower …  Hey, that sale on my favorite soft drink is too good to pass up …  Ummm…  Where was I?

God is looking over us every nanosecond of every day.  We need to spend more than an hour with Him on Sunday.  We are in the storm, even though it may seem calm, and we need God within us every nanosecond.

Once the centurion figured that out, he listened to Paul and ensured that his men did just as Paul said.

Let’s do as Julius did, but it would be wise to do it from the start instead of listening after the storm begins to rage.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.