Based on Acts 27:1-20 (New King James Version)
“And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board. When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, ‘Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.’ Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there. When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
In today’s passage, there are many things that should be taken into account that have great value, things that can save you from much pain and even from the risk of losing your physical life, and your soul, which is what is most valuable to man. If I could list them, I would propose the following: it is not a good idea to ignore good counsel, you should consider the people that are giving you counsel, you should consider the source from where their counsel comes from, you should keep in mind that the knowledge of God will always be superior to human knowledge, you should be humble, and that your bad decisions can affect you and everyone around you.
Let’s start with the first one, that it is not a good idea to ignore good counsel. The Bible teaches us this: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.” Proverbs 12:15. It is never a good idea to be guided by our own opinion, because it is not realistic to think that we know everything. That’s the first thing. The other issue is that the majority of the time, we cannot see the whole panorama clearly, no matter how attentive or intelligent we think we are. And the other very important reason that we should not cling too much to our own opinion is because reality is not subject to our opinion. For example, no matter how much I think that I may have the ability to fly like a bird, if I jump off a very tall building to put this to the test, it is not going to go very well for me. Everything will be fine until I arrive to the reality of how hard the surface can be, and the reality of the effects of the law of gravity. Gravity does not care about my opinion.
The other point is that we should consider the people that are counseling us, or quite simply, we cannot listen to everyone. We need to be careful with who we listen to, and for many reasons, because it is good to listen to advice, but the source must be considered. The Word teaches us this: “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:16-20. We should carefully consider the person from where the advice is coming from. Not everyone desires your wellbeing. Not everyone has good intentions. Not everyone will have the necessary experience they need to be able to give you good advice. We see that Paul, because of his faith, was a righteous person, just, with an impeccable life, that even the centurion was treating him kindly because he knew that he was being accused unjustly. Paul was an example of a person, both socially, and even more so, seeing him for the Christian he was.
The other thing that made Paul someone worthy to be listened to was that Paul had God as a source. Paul did not give counsel based on his own opinion, or on his aptitudes and knowledge. God was guiding Paul through the Holy Spirit. And what must be considered is that no one knows more than God. God’s knowledge will always surpass all other knowledge, and we see this throughout the Bible and even in what is created. For example, if someone would have read the following in Isaiah 40:22: “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth…”, something written more than 700 years before Christ, we would not have had the absurd idea as humans for so many centuries after that the world was flat, and that all who dared sail beyond the horizon would fall off somehow. So then, if God says something, it’s because it is that way, because He created everything, and all of man’s knowledge and the advancement of technology will never change the reality that God is God, and that He will always be superior in every kind of way. I myself have been able to witness the power of God in my own life and that it surpassed science’s capabilities.
And as an end, we must always be humble before the Lord, and always be attentive to what He says, be ready for His Word, obeying His principles, His commandments, knowing how to listen to Him through those people that do love Him, fear Him, and look for Him. Paul, even though he was an extremely educated person, he was not a sailor, nor a meteorologist, but he was a person that loved, feared, and followed the Supreme God of the Universe, and this Almighty God would speak to him and would use him greatly, whose work we see even until this day, nearly two thousand years after his death. And if we are not humble and obedient to God and His Word, we could pay dearly, and affect everyone that surrounds us dearly as well, because everything we do not only affects us personally, but it also affects everyone around us like our family, our loved ones, the people we work with, etc. So then, is it wise to ignore God’s warnings, upon which not only depends our physical wellbeing, but even more importantly, the wellbeing of our soul for all eternity? Lord bless! John