The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Acts 27:22-25, “’…I urge you to keep up your courage, for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, 24 saying, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.” 25 ‘Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.’”

There is nothing more frightening than being in a life-threatening situation you cannot control.

A few verses earlier tells us that the situation had concerned them “for many days.” No one

had eaten anything; they were terrified at the thought of drowning in the cold, dark waters.

Then the very one the centurion had not trusted—Paul– urged them not to give up! He had warned them previously not to set sail. Now, he encourages them with an experience he had

with an angel of God –the God to whom Paul belonged and the God whom he served. The

angel said, “Do not be afraid.” That’s a tough order considering the situation they were in.

How could Paul not be afraid? He could focus on His Deliverer instead of the storm. The angel

also said, “…you must stand before Caesar.” If this were to be God’s will, how could anything

keep it from happening? That leads me to wonder if the storm they were encountering was

not satanically empowered to keep Paul from getting to Rome? That’s all-the-more reason to

be courageous and trusting in the LORD.

The difficulties we encounter should always be evaluated as coming from our enemy, the devil. We ought never to lose courage, knowing that the LORD is our SUPREME Leader! Remember the

song:

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

We pray daily for your deliverance from the storms you face,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”