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A strong disturbance associated with a cold front moved along the U.S.-Canadian border on October 27, 1991 and passed through New England pretty much without incident. At the same time, a large high-pressure system was forecast to build over southeast Canada. When a low pressure system along the front moved into the Maritimes southeast of Nova Scotia, it began to intensify due to the cold dry air introduced from the north. These circumstances alone, could have created a strong storm, but then, like throwing gasoline on a fire, a dying Hurricane Grace delivered immeasurable tropical energy to create a powerful nor’easter. Boston Meteorologist Robert Case dubbed this tempest “the perfect storm.”
A few years later author Sebastian Junger wrote a book and used Case’s term “The Perfect Storm” as its title. The book is about that 1991 Halloween Nor’easter and features the tragic story of the fishing boat Andrea Gail, based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, which was lost 575 miles at sea during the severe conditions while fishing for swordfish. The follows the lives of the swordfishing crew and their family members before and during the storm. Much of the early book gives detailed descriptions of the daily lives of the fishermen and their jobs, and is centered around activities at the Crow’s Nest, a tavern in Gloucester popular with the fishermen. Sometime during the perfect storm, the Andrea Gail was ripped to pieces and all six crew members perished at sea.
Many of you no doubt saw the movie version of “The Perfect Storm” staring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Sandra Bullock that was released in 2000. The scenes in the film were chilling. Watching a 210 foot fishing boat being tossed back and forth by 30 foot waves leaves you feeling sea sick in the comfort of your own living room.
Long before the Halloween Nor’easter of 1991 there was another perfect storm. In the autumn of the year 60 A.D. the apostle Paul and his fellow companions were sailing along the southern coast of the island of Crete when a viscious nor’easter blew in and carried their ship off course into the treacherous open waters of the Mediteranian Sea. Like the Andrea Gail, this Alexandrian grain ship experienced a hurricane-like wind and man-eating waves threatened to swallow the lives of everyone on board. As we listen to Luke’s dramatic account of the perfect storm, I hope that we will all learn something about God and ourselves!
Disastrous Decisions (13-20)
Paul tried to warn them to stay, but they refused to listen to him! After an already difficult and dangerous voyage, they were safely harbored at Fair Havens on the south central coast of the island of Crete. The ships’ owner, captain, and Julius the centurion all wanted to sail sixty miles further to Phoenix on the western tip of the island. They arrogantly ignored Paul’s advice, raised the anchor, and set sail again.
When they first set off there was a gentle south wind that was ideal for cruising. Can you imagine how the crew would have mocked and laughed at Paul as this bay breeze blew through their hair as they stood on the deck? They probably poked, “Hey Paul, help! The wind is blowing me overboard! Save me!” as they glided along the waters.
Little did they know then, but just a few hours later their cocky grins would turn to frightful grimaces! When they passed by the Cape of Matala in the Gulf of Messara just six miles west of Fair Havens, the winds began to change. They grew more powerful and the waves kept swelling higher and higher. Before they knew it or could do anything about it, they coasted into the middle of a powerful storm. It was one of those dreaded autumn “Nor’easters”, which was well documented in the literature of the day. The actual Greek word that Luke uses for this is “Typhonikos” from which we get our English word “typhoon”. It was a horrendous storm with whirlwinds that swept down from the northeast and caused the waves to crash so hard that most ships were torn to pieces and most sailors were overwhelmed by the abyss.
Their ship was caught by the tempestuous wind and turned to the south western open seas away from the island and its protection. They lost total control of the ship and were forced to go wherever the wind blew. It appeared that they were completely at the mercy of the sea!
In the wake of immanent disaster, they finally passed by the little island of Cauda which gave them a temporary reprieve from the gale, and they were able to take some emergency measures in an attempt to preserve the ship and their lives. The lifeboat that was towed behind the ship was towed in and secured, and the crew passed ropes under the ship to hold together and reinforce the hull against the battering of the waves.
Their reprieve was short-lived before a new danger stood in their path. They had ventured so far south that they entered the dreaded “Syrtis”, a malicious maze of shallows and quicksands off the coast of Cyrene in North Africa. This place was known as a graveyard for ships. Fearing that the ship would be run aground on the sandbars, they took a few more desperate measures: they lowered the sea anchor as a drag to slow them down and they began tossing their cargo and equipment into the sea in hopes of lightening the ship and thus increasing their chances of survival. Everyone on board, all 276 passengers and prisoners were required to do their part.
Despite these measures, most of them had still given up hope of being saved. The sun and stars had been under thick cloud cover for many days without the stars and sun, they had no way of determining their location or direction—no gear, no sun, no stars all adds up to no hope.
All of those cocky and arrogant sailors who would have mocked and made fun of Paul when they left Fair Havens weren’t laughing anymore. I’m sure the captain, owner, and centurion regretted not taking Paul’s advice. Now they were suffering the consequences of their poor decision.
Isn’t that the way it is for us today too? So often we ignore conventional wisdom, God’s Word, and the warnings and advice of others and then have to suffer the consequences of our arrogance and poor decisions. Think about it! How many people ignore the conventional wisdom of motor vehicle laws—they travel at ridiculous speeds or get behind the wheel after they have been drinking—they arrogantly convince themselves that they are in control, wrap their car around a tree or crashing into another car—then they have to suffer the guilt and consequences of hurting themselves or someone else.
How many times do people ignore the plain teachings of God’s Word and have to endure the consequences. I think about the young people who grow up in church and know the truth—yet they still arrogantly engage in illicit sexual activity, say to themselves, “I know what I am doing,” and then wake up the next morning with an unwanted pregnancy or a sexually transmitted disease. Then they have to suffer the consequences of their poor decisions! Think about it!
How often do people ignore godly advice from others who warn them about spending money that they don’t have—yet they run up thousands of dollars of credit card debt and don’t have the means to dig out of it—then they have to suffer the consequences of broken relationships, bad credit scores, or even bankruptcy? This sort of thing happens all the time and it destroys peoples’ lives. But like the captain and owner of the ship, they arrogantly say, “I know what I am doing!”
Earlier this week I finished a fascinating book—Into the Wild, by John Krakauer. It is a tragic story about a young man named Chris McCandless who died in the wilderness of Alaska. McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia. After graduating in 1990 from Emory University, McCandless ceased communicating with his family, gave away his savings of approximately $24,000 to Oxfam (ironically Oxfam is a charity that works to feed the hungry) and began traveling, later abandoning his car and burning all the money in his wallet. After paddling down the Colorado River, living with a band of gypsies in Arizona, and working odd jobs in Minnasota, he finally made his way to Alaska to live off the land.
In April 1992, Jim Gallien gave McCandless a ride to the Stampede Trail in Alaska. There, McCandless headed down the snow-covered trail to begin an odyssey with only 25 pounds of rice (which he later abandoned), a .22 calibre rifle, a camera, several boxes of rifle rounds, and a small selection of reading material — including a field guide to the region’s edible plants. He had no road map or compass, having left his tattered map with Gallien. He died sometime in August and his body was found, in early September, by a couple and a group of moose hunters. McCandless made many poor decisions and he suffered the consequences!
How about us? I hope that we will pay attention to conventional wisdom, be obedient to God’s Word, and listen to godly advice. This humility will protect us from bad decisions and from having to endure their consequences!
Divine Deliverances (21-26)
As a result of the storm, most of the people on board would have become seasick and not have eaten for several days. In this hopeless situation Paul came with a word of encouragement, having himself been encouraged by the Lord through his angel. When he said that they should have taken his advice, he was not making an “I told you so” statement but affirming his credibility before he told them about the appearance of the angel.
He hoped that this time they would take him seriously. Twice he asked them to keep up their courage, basing that appeal on the angel’s words of assurance. God had destined him for Rome, and because of that everyone on the ship would be delivered from death. After expressing his faith in God, he predicted that the ship would run aground on an island and be destroyed, but every life on board would be spared.
It is difficult to know how the crew and passengers responded to Paul’s message. On one hand they would have had a difficult time believing that an actual angel appeared to him and gave him this message. On the other hand they had ignored his prophetic words in the past and they got themselves into a lot of trouble. Either way, this text shows God’s sovereignty over Paul’s life and the forces of nature. A storm of this magnitude would typically capsize such a ship and everyone would drown, but God was in control of everything. Nothing was going to stop his plan for Paul’s life!
Luke uses this storm story to again highlight God’s sovereignty and providence, one of his main sub themes throughout the book of Acts. When we read this story and imagine ourselves on that boat, it reaffirms the reality of God’s control over the circumstances of our lives today. How many times has he stepped in and divinely delivered us from dumb and disastrous decisions? How many times has given us the exact amount of grace we needed to get through a problem? How many times has he allowed us to experience difficulty to remind us that we are not in control of our lives, but he is?
Could God have prevented this storm from appearing? Sure! Could he have calmed it immediately? Absolutely! Remember the story of Jesus calming the storm when he was on a boat with his terrified disciples! Indeed, Jesus can still every storm, but he does not immunize Christians from problems that others in the world face. Sometimes he miraculously delivers Christians from such situations, while at other times he gives Christians courage to endure disasters.
Listen to how commentator Ajith Fernando applies this passage:
Some Christians will testify how God saved them from investing in a venture that went bankrupt while others ponder the mysterious providence that permitted them to invest in the same venture after taking all of the necessary precautions and praying about the decision to invest. One Christian will testify how a traffic jam caused him to miss an ill-fated flight, while the godly mother of three children will face an uncertain future because her husband died on that same fight. We should never say that the one who was saved was godlier than the one who wasn’t. In fact, the one who suffered perhaps had a stronger faith, so that God felt that he or she was able to go through the circumstances…What use is it to refer to God’s sovereignty [and providence] in view of the Christian who was not spared the experience of disaster? Though Christ can still the storm, we can have the courage to face it when he does not, for we know that through the crisis God’s sovereignty will work out something good.
Which one are you? Are you the one God divinely delivered, or are you the one he allowed to experience the disaster? Either way, he is completely sovereign! His providence is always working for good, even when we don’t understand it. Do you trust him?
Yes, there are consequences for the poor decisions we make, but thank God he is even sovereign over them. God wants us to make good decisions, but I’m glad that he works for our good even when we don’t!