Free Hope for Your Heart: Finding Strength in Life's Storms by June Hunt Page B

SEA
    They were tossed about on the sea like a piece of driftwood, with no chance of docking or running aground on a beach. The sailors threw cargo and tackle overboard and used all of their skills to battle one watery blast after another. After several weeks of this, all onboard believed they would die.
    The entire narrative is sprinkled with phrases such as:
The wind did not allow us to go farther. . . .

Soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. . . .

The voyage was now dangerous. . . .

Since we were violently storm-tossed. . . . 1

    Even Paul, the stalwart man of faith, believed all was lost. He told the soldiers, “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also” (v. 10).
    Luke, Paul’s traveling companion, chronicled the event and confirmed the dire outlook: “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved” (v. 20). At one point in this nautical nightmare, the crew let down not just one but four anchors. “Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight” (v. 29).

THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR
    But then the ominous outlook changed with a late-night visit from an angel of God. The angel assured Paul that he would indeed testify before Caesar and that God would graciously preserve the lives of the men sailing with him. An emboldened Paul addressed his shipmates: “But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. . . . So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me” (vv. 22, 25).
    After several weeks at sea, the ship’s captain spotted a beach and attempted to run the ship aground. But the craft rammed into a reef instead and got stuck. The ship was then battered by the surf and broke apart. The men were forced to jump overboard and swim to shore or cling to planks as they were swept toward land. Miraculously, all were saved, just as the angel had promised.
    Luke ends the narrative by saying, “And so it was that all were brought safely to land” (v. 44 esv). As if breathing a huge sigh of relief, Luke reemphasizes their safe passage in the very next verse: “After we were brought safely through . . .” (Acts 28:1 esv).

A COURSE CHARTED FROM ABOVE
    All of us can relate to this story, even if we’ve never been violently tossed about at sea. Crises—catastrophic circumstances—crash upon us like spilling breaker waves and all but crush our hopes. Like the terrified passengers with Paul, all of us, at some time or another, have “prayed for day to come.” 2
God, please give me a ray of hope. Please shine a
light on this dark situation.
    God assures us He will bring us safely through whatever storm we’re currently facing. He is charting the course, and—in His time, in His way—He will lead us to the other side of our troubled waters. God is vitally interested in the well-being of His children, and He promises to provide all we need to weather tempestuous trials. The psalmist writes, “Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life” (Ps. 119:49–50 esv).

WHO’S IN CONTROL, NOT WHAT’S IN CONTROL
    From the earliest moments of my cancer diagnosis and all the way through my recovery, I set my mind and heart on the Scripture, “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:20–21 esv).
    I had taught that passage years earlier but hadn’t really thought about it in quite a while. When I needed it most, when life and death were very much in question, there it was, and