Paul is an amazing story. We have a guy who was on the Jewish all star team. He was pretty much the best, the brightest, the most dedicated follower of their religious practices. He was so dedicated that he could not even stand the thought of another system of beliefs competing with his own. He was religiously intolerant long before it was the standard societal trend. It was only through a miraculous intervention from God that Paul was able to see that he was only "kicking against sharp sticks" in his persecution of the followers of Jesus. Paul's tribulation, although the blindness only lasted three days, propelled him into taking an action which he would have never contemplated during all of his prayers, during all of the trials in which he sought the destruction of the followers of Jesus, or during the time when he gave consent to see Steven put to death. Paul ends up seeking out a follower of Jesus in order to receive healing. This choice indicates a complete paradigm shift from any thoughts or actions Paul would have engaged in prior to his God-inspired tribulation.
As the story of Paul continues, he find himself in a situation where he has been imprisoned and is about to embark on a nautical journey to face his ultimate judgement in Rome. He was on board with 276 guards and prisoners. During the voyage, after finding a safe harbor, Paul actually tells the crew of the ship that the voyage that they are own is going to be a disastrous one. He is ignored by the centurion and the ship sets sail. So begins their exposure to the relentless transformative nature of supernatural tribulation. The ship sets out with a gentle wind, but then a "wind of hurricane force" begins to wreak havoc on their plans. The men have thrown most of their goods overboard, saving only the food, which has almost run out. Although "I told you so", would not necessarily be the most congenial response as the ship drifts aimlessly and the food supplies dwindle, Paul chooses these words to remind these men of the God that he serves. He sends them an interesting message in that he promises them that all of the men would survive the voyage, but adds a "by the way, we are going to run aground on an island"at the end of this statement. One can only surmise that these men had already begun to suspect that Paul was the real deal, and that they were in the midst of a tribulation that could might indeed be connected to the God that Paul was talking about. We see the ship again, 14 nights into the voyage. It is still floundering. A group of men began to lower the lifeboat into the water, attempting to escape what they must have expected to be their floating coffin. It is a plausible assumption that these men were not altogether convinced that Paul had any particular insights and that they instead wanted to explore other means of survival on their own. Even in the midst of this tribulation, we see how it impacted people differently. There was obviously a group of men who saw truth in what Paul was saying, and Paul convinced them to cut the lifeboat loose. Paul had cautioned them that they would not survive if they took to the lifeboats. We can see the transformation taking place in some of the men, but still the men were in the midst of a dire situation.
These men were starving. They had been rationing food for 14 days, and one can only imagine that the prisoners were receiving a smaller ration than the soldiers. It is at this point that the proof of transformation is exhibited throughout the whole company. At dawn, Paul tells them that he knows that they have eaten very little during the past two weeks and that they should now eat as much as they can and throw the rest into the sea. This is quite a request for a prisoner to make. Yet, we read in Acts 27:38 that they threw the rest of the grain into the sea. These men who had no patience to listen to a previous warning from Paul had now started the countdown clock to their death sentence with this one act. Unless, of course, the transformative nature of their tribulation had served God's purpose and they had belief in Paul. As the ship strikes a sandbar that same day, a choice has to be made, which will test whether the transformation had actually taken hold. If any of the prisoners escaped, then the soldiers who were responsible for guarding them would be put to death. A simple solution presented to the soldiers was to kill all of the prisoners. The centurion wanted to spare the life of Paul, so he and his men risked their very existence to allow Paul and the other prisoners to stay alive. They had now tied their fortunes to the very man who they had ignored before all of their trouble had begun.
That is how transformation works. It is a complete turnabout. You are headed in one direction, something happens that makes going in that direction less palatable, you are inspired to switch direction. Simple formula. Except for the fact that apart from God and his intervention, we are just like the soldiers sitting safely in port thinking, "whatever, God.....I have this under control". We are unaware of just how precarious our situation really is. It is only the most gracious gift from God that often comes in the form of tribulation which gives us the reflective capacity for change. I don't know if these men were converted to Christ. I do know that some of them actually mistook Paul for a god, so it is likely that they missed the point of this experience all together. They have plenty of company on that one. I do not know what kind of tribulation you may be undergoing. I do not know if all of your life resembles a glassy calm sea, but I do know that tribulations will come. I do know that they will either prompt you to change, or they will further cast you onto a sea of doubt. Make the conscious choice to search out the will of God. Make an effort to be sensitive to God as he redirects your faulty steps. Align yourself with his will as presented in Scripture, and most of all, when you feel the beginnings of earthly trials and tribulations, ask yourself a few clarifying questions. What might God be telling me? Am I in his will? Are there decisions and choices that I need to rethink? Above all else, in midst of any tribulations, rejoice in the the fact that the Lord loves you enough to be concerned about the path you are on, even if it means blinding you, shipwrecking you, taking away your job, your health, your security, or any other flotsam that you may be clinging to. Seek his will. Expect his direction. Pray for guidance.
