Have Faith in God!

Daily Reading: Acts 27

Scripture Focus: For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. (Acts 27.23-25)

Devotional Thought: Action!  Intrigue! Suspense!  Rescue! What a story! Paul’s voyage to Rome is a story of grace:

·       Grace is initiated by God.  In the midst of the storm, God sent the angel.  The storm surrounded Paul and there was nothing he could do to quell it.  For “many days, the storm continued raging” (v. 20, NIV).  Can you imagine how long those days were?  In a tiny vessel for days on end, being battered and blown.  Hoping that when the next dawn came there would come calm, only to find out that the storm still pounded mercilessly.  But, Paul was not alone.  "The God to whom I belong” sent an angel.  That was pure grace.

·       Grace given to one spills out on others.  Like Abraham, Paul was blessed of God to be a blessing to others: “God has granted you all those who sail with you.”  Don’t you know that those men on that ship were glad that Paul was with them!  I think about children who are raised in Christian homes, how they are blessed by their parents’ faith.  Or, what about a nation whose history is rooted in the gospel of Christ?  Today’s generation is blessed by the grace given to a former generation.

In the midst of your storm, you are blessed.  Even when the storm rages on and on, God has not forgotten you.  You are his.  You serve him!  He stands beside you, and he spills his grace out on those you love.  Say with Paul, “I have faith in God!”

Prayer: Lord, in the midst of my storms, help me to remember that I am not alone, and that as you save me you will save those with me.  Help me to declare, "I have faith in God!"  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 75.6-10

6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,

7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.

8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

9 But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.