“But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.”
Acts 27:22 (NLT)
After all their earthly hope was gone, heavenly hope showed up. The men on the ship had thrown everything overboard that they thought might save them. They had not seen the sun, and they had not eaten for days. Then Paul stood and told them twice, “Take courage.” The ship was going down, but God said their lives would be spared.
Taking courage was probably really difficult in that moment. Fear had already led them to ignore Paul’s advice, tie ropes beneath the ship, and throw away both their profit and their food. Fear kept telling them they were going to die. They had nothing else to hope in besides the Word of the Lord.
The situation said all hope was gone, but God sent an angel to encourage Paul so that Paul could encourage everyone on the ship. Paul believed in God’s faithfulness to His word. Whatever He says is true, and it will be just as He said. God can send an angel. God can stop the storm. God can change our whole world. But if we let fear drive and consume us, it will destroy us.
When we face circumstances we have no ability to fix, correct, or resurrect, we can take courage from what God says in His Word. We can pray, stand in faith, worship God instead of our circumstances, and cast our cares upon the Lord. Our God has defeated the enemy. Jesus has already won on the cross. Whether He changes our circumstances or changes our perspective within them, when all earthly hope is gone, we can find all of our hope in Jesus Christ.