The Bible says that God will always use what the enemy meant for harm for our good…
Romans 8:28
The Bible is full of stories that portray this scripture exactly!
One of the most amazing examples is found in Acts 27… Paul and his crew were ship wrecked on their way to Rome...
Paul had been given a word from the Lord that he would go to Rome and preach and he would meet with Cesar… So imagine what he could’ve thought when he was suddenly shipwrecked... He could’ve thought that he missed God, he could’ve thought that his prophecy would not be fulfilled … But make no mistake; This side trek ..this horrible shipwreck landed him on the island of Malta… God used him mightily in a situation that had seemed like an impossible catastrophe .. but it turned out to be an enormous and miraculous blessing that changed and blessed the masses in ways Paul never dreamed.
We must look for our blessings in the midst of the trials and declare the word of the Lord that says God will turn this around and use it for good… That is God‘s promise and he is not of God that should lie!
What’s interesting is that there were 276 men on board that ship... they were shipwrecked off the coast of the Island of Malta. They had gone through a major, battering and an unrelenting siege of powerful storms, they were no doubt, hungry, weak, cold, wet, exhausted, and SCARED...and many of them had to swim to shore in huge waves and cold temperatures and the ones who couldn’t swim drifted in the cold sea to the shore by bravely holding on to pieces of drift wood and boat remains.
The Bible says that NOT ONE of them perished… Not one.. that is an amazing word right there…
Not only was God protecting Paul, but everyone
that was on that ship was taken care of because of the anointing and blessings on Paul!
Always such an encourager; Paul knew that God was not a God that should lie, he knew that God would take care of them!
It says in Acts 27:34… For not a hair of your heads will perish!
God had gone before Paul and had given him a word… Paul believed God and remained in faith no matter what his surroundings looked like!
No matter how doubtful, terrifying and horrible his circumstance seemed..
He trusted God…!
God will always go before us and make the crooked places straight…
Acts 27:22
But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night and angel of God to whom I belong , and whom I serve ,stood beside me, and he said, don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to EVERYONE sailing with you. So take courage! FOR I BELIEVE GOD..It will be just as he said. But, we will be shipwrecked on an island.
God had gone before them and had paved the way.. God told him that there will be difficulties that there would be a shipwreck…(God never says we will be without trials) But he also told Paul that they would be saved. That they all would be spared .
Paul was resting in God’s assurance that every last of them would be unharmed and make it safely to the shore… That had to be hard to stand in faith when he looked at the impossible situation surrounding them ..but he trusted God and remained in faith… And in peace!
Imagine him wondering and questioning why? If he was to go to Rome and speak with Cesar; why would they have to make this horrifying detour?
… These are not things for us to question… God always knows what he’s doing and there is a reason for everything. HE HAS A PLAN!
While they were there on the island of Malta, Paul was used mightily of the Lord!
He went in and prayed for the chief official who was healed from a life threatening disease… Then all of the other sick people on the island came to meet Paul and his men and were all healed and were able to hear about the goodness of God! As a result, Paul and his crew were showered with honors and abundantly taken care of..
When it came time for them to leave the island, the people there replaced everything Paul and his men had lost and supplied them with everything they would need for the remainder of the trip.
The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy... but Jesus came that we would have life and have it to the full! God always supplies and restores what the enemy means for harm.
Who knows how or when God would have otherwise reached these people on this remote island… They too all needed to hear the good news...It is not God‘s will for any man to perish!
We must trust him and that he has a plan for us even in the detours of our lives and even in the toughest of circumstances… God will use it for good.. sometimes when our plans don’t work out as we want them to, they may just work out even better than we ever expected because when God is in it..and he gets all the glory… Nothing could be better than that!
We must trust God no matter what’s going on around us.
Even though God had promised safe passage to Paul, no matter what came against him ..God In his infinite wisdom, gracious mercy and unending love, would not let anything stop his faithful servant.
Our life is in God’s hands, and if we are still here on this earth, then we still have work to do and God wants to use us all mightily to be a light and to share the good news.
The good news of the goodness and love of God spread like wild fire on that remote island…GOD KNOWS WHERE HIS PEOPLE ARE.. He will ALWAYS find the lost..!
Imagine the thoughts of the people who lived there as some people from a distant land showed up on their shores and brought the Word God in all of his Majesty and all of his glory, and all of his miraculous power to change the face of that island and their faith forever… Oh what a good ,good God we have who uses all things for good!!
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Genesis 50:20
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5:8
“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15
“Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14
