Be grateful during the storm.
Are you old enough to remember the infamous Mumbai floods of 27 July 2005?
I grew up in Mumbai, and that day is etched in my memory. I was on my way home from work when I found myself completely stranded, far from home, with waters rising, no help in sight, and a very real fear that I might not make it.
That was the scariest encounter with water I’ve ever had.
In some small way, that experience helps me relate to what Paul and his 275 fellow passengers must have felt when they were caught in an intense storm. Where my misery only lasted a few hours, they found themselves stuck at sea on a sinking ship in a storm that lasted for over two weeks😱 (read the story in Acts 27).
Paul describes the feeling:
When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. – Acts 27:20 NIV
Before throwing all their grain overboard to lighten the ship, Paul urged everyone to eat what could have well been their last meal.
He took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. – Acts 27:35-36 NIV
Paul chose to thank God in the middle of the storm. He focused not on all the ways they needed God’s protection and intervention, but on what God had already provided: the meal right in front of them.
The next day, all 276 aboard made it safely to shore, just as God had promised Paul.
If Paul gave thanks not after the storm had passed, but right in the midst of it, we can give thanks in our storms as well.
What are the storms in your life? And what are the things in front of you to be grateful for?
