Acts 27. It was decided that we should set sail for Italy… (27:1). The Apostle Paul and a group of prisoners were sent off on a series of ships, sailing their way across the Mediterranean Sea from port to port. It must have been late fall, and the sailing ships struggled with the winds off Cyprus and Crete. They attempted to make progress and hoped to pick a port to spend the winter in, but instead they were caught up in a terrible winter storm that blew them along for fourteen days – no real ability to steer the ship, no more food, and practically no hope. Eventually they were shipwrecked in a bay on the island of Malta, just off the southern end of Italy (28:1).

[Fun fact – When we lived in Tunisia we visited Malta occasionally. It’s a beautiful island full of history and fortresses and there is a bay on the northern end named for St. Paul!]

The text tells us that Paul had some supernatural Holy Spirit insight into a number of things – first warning them that the trip was a bad idea (27:10), and then sharing a visit he had from an angel saying, “I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you but only the ship… So take heart men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island” (27:22-26). We see God intervening and protecting Paul again and again.

In addition to the miraculous intervention of God in Paul’s journey, what I also see in the text is that Paul – while being shipwrecked and living through major drama – cares for the people around him. His compassionate ministry and thoughtfulness regarding others continued.

Paul spoke words of encouragement and took on a leadership role on the ship in the chaos (27:22-26). He advised the Roman centurion and the sailing crew and lead their decision-making (27:31-32). Paul advised everyone to eat because today we shall be shipwrecked and then modeled for them what it was to give thanks to God, break bread, and eat (27:33-35). The men responded to his leadership, and they were all encouraged and ate some food themselves (27:36).

Looking ahead (I had to keep reading!) we see Paul on the island of Malta. He helped build a fire to warm up his cold, shipwrecked companions (28:2-3). Three days later Paul healed the father of his island host from fever and dysentery (28:8) and then healed the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured (28:9). They stayed in Malta for three months, where they were welcome guests.

How do you see Paul’s confidence in God in this passage? How are others affected by his great confidence in God? How could you use your confidence in God to encourage others?

How do you see Paul’s compassion and continued ministry to others, even when he was suffering himself? Might you need to grow in compassion for others?