STORM WARNING
DAY 149: Last summer we acquired our first boat. It was a great second hand vessle, but did not come equipped for the water so with checklist in hand my husband and I went to the sports store to be sure we had everything legally required. While I wanted to grab the bare minimum to satisfy the law, in an abundance of caution my husband insisted we get each and every item on the "recommended" list.
We got life jackets, a fire extinguisher, a life preserver, a first aid kit, 2 over-sized rear view mirrors, safety ropes, an extra manual horn just in case the installed electric horn ever fails, a whistle (I guess in case the manual horn fails), a water proof box, though we had nothing to put in it, an oar in case we ever had to row to shore (but only one- go figure), and sundry bungy cords, ropes, hooks and Velcro utility straps for unforeseen circumstances. We were prepared for all contingencies -we thought.
Our first family lake day was everything we expected. The kids took turns tubing across a beautiful lake that was surprisingly uncrowded. The boat didn't malfunction even once and we never had to use the horn (or the back up horn, or the back up to the back up horn). There was that one little incident when my husband ran over our son with the boat, but nobody is perfect. We just used it as a teachable moment for our kids, who were already asking when they could take the boat out with their friends. Lesson number one children: don't run over the people in the water.
The bigger lesson, however, put us all in danger. While we were busy having fun, storm clouds had been gathering on the far horizon. We weren't too concerned when we noticed them since we didn't see any lightening, and the cloud cover was nice relief from the summer sun. A little rain wouldn't hurt - after all, we were already wet. If we noticed any lightening in the distance we would call it a day. Then, in an instant the distant storm clouds enveloped us and bolts of lightning were splitting the sky. We were caught in a violent thunderstorm. We made a dash to the shore as the waves began to white cap and push our small boat around like a bully on a playground. The storm was so close that the peels of thunder and lightning were simultaneous. Everyone was tense and frightened as we pulled into the dock. Thankfully, we were able to get the boat tied off and run to the Marina for cover until the storm finally subsided.
It was a terrifying experience; and the one thing that might have kept us out of the storm was the one thing we didn't even have on our list: checking the weather report. When we woke up that morning the sun was shining so we assumed we were good to go. The lake was uncrowded because apparently the more experienced boaters checked the forecast and heeded the warnings that there was a 50% chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Warning are meant to be heeded! I won't soon forget that lesson.
Reading our passage in Acts today was like re-living Family Boat Day. Paul, who had appealed his case to be heard by Ceaser, set sail for Rome as a prisoner. The first leg of the trip found them docked in Sidon.
Acts: 27:4 Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course, so we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland.
It was definitely not smooth sailing, but the journey continued none-the-less. After landing in Myra, they boarded an Egyptian ship bound for Italy. The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall, and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers and his Roman guard about it.
Acts 27:10 “Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.” 11 But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul. 12 And since Fair Havens was an exposed harbor—a poor place to spend the winter—most of the crew wanted to go on to Phoenix, farther up the coast of Crete, and spend the winter there. Phoenix was a good harbor with only a southwest and northwest exposure.
You know from reading that things went from bad to worse. Despite Paul's warning they pushed on and got caught in a violent storm with gale forced winds battering the ship, causing the crew to throw the cargo overboard to try to save all their lives. It was only by God's intervening hand that all souls managed to abandon ship and swim safely to shore, but the consequences were great. They were shipwrecked. They lost all the cargo. They lost the ship. Their lives had been in grave danger - just as they had been warned. The problem was not a lack of warning; it was a lack of heeding.
Granted, there are times when peril comes like a thief in the night, with no opportunity to change course. Then there is the other 90% of risks that have overt warnings or at the least the opportunity to seek out warning. I know God's grace is big enough for both, but the consequences can be very different. Throwing caution to the wind may mean throwing yourself or others in harms way unnecessarily. Paul, who lived his life by the principals of God's Word, knew well the Proverb that must have instructed him:
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. (Prov 22:3 NLT)
Taking precautions doesn't mean eliminating all risks; it just means being prepared for them as best you can. While God does indeed sometimes teach us in the storms of life, my boating experience and Paul's are both metaphoric lessons that it isn't God's will that we get caught in every single storm that comes on the horizon of our lives.
Sometimes God's will is that we avoid the storm by heeding the warnings He is gracious enough to send our way, taking others to safety with us. Staying docked when we want to plunge ahead can grow our character as much as braving the storm.
Day 149 of 365
1 Chronicles 7
1 Chronicles 8
Acts 27:1-20
Psalm 7:1-17
Proverbs 18:22
We got life jackets, a fire extinguisher, a life preserver, a first aid kit, 2 over-sized rear view mirrors, safety ropes, an extra manual horn just in case the installed electric horn ever fails, a whistle (I guess in case the manual horn fails), a water proof box, though we had nothing to put in it, an oar in case we ever had to row to shore (but only one- go figure), and sundry bungy cords, ropes, hooks and Velcro utility straps for unforeseen circumstances. We were prepared for all contingencies -we thought.
The bigger lesson, however, put us all in danger. While we were busy having fun, storm clouds had been gathering on the far horizon. We weren't too concerned when we noticed them since we didn't see any lightening, and the cloud cover was nice relief from the summer sun. A little rain wouldn't hurt - after all, we were already wet. If we noticed any lightening in the distance we would call it a day. Then, in an instant the distant storm clouds enveloped us and bolts of lightning were splitting the sky. We were caught in a violent thunderstorm. We made a dash to the shore as the waves began to white cap and push our small boat around like a bully on a playground. The storm was so close that the peels of thunder and lightning were simultaneous. Everyone was tense and frightened as we pulled into the dock. Thankfully, we were able to get the boat tied off and run to the Marina for cover until the storm finally subsided.
It was a terrifying experience; and the one thing that might have kept us out of the storm was the one thing we didn't even have on our list: checking the weather report. When we woke up that morning the sun was shining so we assumed we were good to go. The lake was uncrowded because apparently the more experienced boaters checked the forecast and heeded the warnings that there was a 50% chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Warning are meant to be heeded! I won't soon forget that lesson.
Reading our passage in Acts today was like re-living Family Boat Day. Paul, who had appealed his case to be heard by Ceaser, set sail for Rome as a prisoner. The first leg of the trip found them docked in Sidon.
Acts: 27:4 Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course, so we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland.
It was definitely not smooth sailing, but the journey continued none-the-less. After landing in Myra, they boarded an Egyptian ship bound for Italy. The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall, and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers and his Roman guard about it.
Acts 27:10 “Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.” 11 But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul. 12 And since Fair Havens was an exposed harbor—a poor place to spend the winter—most of the crew wanted to go on to Phoenix, farther up the coast of Crete, and spend the winter there. Phoenix was a good harbor with only a southwest and northwest exposure.
You know from reading that things went from bad to worse. Despite Paul's warning they pushed on and got caught in a violent storm with gale forced winds battering the ship, causing the crew to throw the cargo overboard to try to save all their lives. It was only by God's intervening hand that all souls managed to abandon ship and swim safely to shore, but the consequences were great. They were shipwrecked. They lost all the cargo. They lost the ship. Their lives had been in grave danger - just as they had been warned. The problem was not a lack of warning; it was a lack of heeding.
Granted, there are times when peril comes like a thief in the night, with no opportunity to change course. Then there is the other 90% of risks that have overt warnings or at the least the opportunity to seek out warning. I know God's grace is big enough for both, but the consequences can be very different. Throwing caution to the wind may mean throwing yourself or others in harms way unnecessarily. Paul, who lived his life by the principals of God's Word, knew well the Proverb that must have instructed him:
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. (Prov 22:3 NLT)
Taking precautions doesn't mean eliminating all risks; it just means being prepared for them as best you can. While God does indeed sometimes teach us in the storms of life, my boating experience and Paul's are both metaphoric lessons that it isn't God's will that we get caught in every single storm that comes on the horizon of our lives.
Sometimes God's will is that we avoid the storm by heeding the warnings He is gracious enough to send our way, taking others to safety with us. Staying docked when we want to plunge ahead can grow our character as much as braving the storm.
Day 149 of 365
1 Chronicles 7
1 Chronicles 8
Acts 27:1-20
Psalm 7:1-17
Proverbs 18:22
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