One of the difficult lessons in God’s Word for me to fully capture is the state of abiding.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Jn 15:4
What does the word abide mean? menō A primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.

The scripture tells us to abide or stay in Christ, or remain in a given place of safety where God will produce the most fruit in our lives.

In Acts 27:10, Paul was being transported by ship along with 276 other men and prisoners from Caesarea, Israel to Rome, Italy. Paul was to appear before Caesar to defend himself from his Jewish accusers. While in route to Rome the ship landed in a city off the Island of Crete called Fair Havens or Good Harbor. Paul encouraged the ship captain to stay (or abide) there because it was winter and sailing into the rough Mediterranean waters that time of year would jeopardize everyone’s life.  Paul’s words were not heeded and the captain ordered the ship to depart from Good Harbor. Paul had no choice but to trust God for the outcome. Once the ship was well on its way, there  arose a “tempestuous” winter storm. Although Paul was given a promise from the Lord in Acts 23:11 that he would speak in Rome, the storm  caused fear and robbed him of his hope. Paul had done all that he could do to stay in a place of safety (Fair Havens) but was thrust into a storm that he didn’t choose.

Sometimes, we also are thrust into storms that we dont choose. We may be fearful or lose hope because there appears to be no escape. God is ever faithful to His promises; in His Word and also to the promises He imparts to us individually. He inspires purpose and vision for our lives.  Storms may shake us to our core but God is still working within the storm to fulfill our destiny as the Lord has purposed beforehand. As with the Apostle Paul, God wasn’t finished producing fruit through his life and was going to save him from perishing in the sea. God sent an Angel to comfort and assure Paul that no one would perish and that Paul would appear before Caesar.

We as believers are much like Paul, we may desire to abide in Christ and stay in a place of safety like Good Harbor but because of circumstances beyond our control we are thrust into a storm. Many kinds of problems cause us to realize that our mind or body are both incapable of overcoming a situation that grips us with fear. Paul had a fear of perishing before he reached Rome even though he had a promise from God. Later in his life he would write,

“I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:12.13

Paul was testifying that in every circumstance of life he faced; whether he suffered need or had fullness, it was Christ who strengthened him. It didn’t matter to Paul what his body had to go through because his only goal was learning about Christ.

While in the midst of a storm, Paul was in the process of learning how to abide in Christ. He was about to face unknown peril of the Sea and there was a good possibility he would die before reaching the promise of appearing before Caesar in Rome. We often think Paul was a super saint with no weaknesses, but real fear struck him. God sent an Angel with a promise so he would not fear and know that no one would perish in the storm, the Angel also confirmed his destination to arrive in Rome before Caesar. Once Paul heard from the Lord, his hope began to soar and his faith was strengthened. He told the men with him on the ship, that no one would perish because an Angel had spoke to him that night. Paul warned them that unless they stayed with the ship they would perish in the storm. God may use storms, circumstances or problems in your life to bring to pass His greater purposes, but be of good cheer for God is ever faithful to His promises. If God still has work for you to do here then wait on the Lord, abide in His rest, fully confident that “He that began a good work in you will accomplish it.” (Phil 1:6)  As you seek Him you will find Him. He will answer.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 at 2:44 pm and is filed under Devotionals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.