Lost Hope

     When life has hit you hard it can be difficult to see things getting better.  If you have endured past your thresh hold, then it may feel like it will never end.  Then you have those people who tell you to look at the bright side of things.  It may feel condescending or like they have no clue what your life is actually like.  They mean well, but they make you feel worse.  You don't need guilt, you need someone to just be there.
     Paul and his traveling companions had been in their broken and battered ship for two weeks without eating.  They were sunburned, hungry, thirsty, and tired.  Imagine how hopeless they probably felt.  Each person experiencing the same thing, but with a different aspect (personality, mind set, attitude).
     They finally sense land and drop the anchors and prayed to make it through the night until they had light to assess what was really there.  The prisoners considered trying to escape, but Paul got ahead of them to save their lives.
     Just before dawn Paul suggested that everyone eat because they needed their strength now and thank God for getting them that far.  There was 276 people on the ship and they all ate enough to be fulfilled.  Finally, the sun starts to appear illuminating the sky slowly and they were thrilled to see that it was land.
     They did not recognize the island, but they ran the ship aground anyway.  They had to cut loose the anchors.  They were stuck with no hope.  The soldiers thought about killing the prisoners to prevent them from escaping.  However, Paul had won favor.  The Centurion did not want to kill him.  This desire saved the other prisoner's lives.  They sat on the beach and watched their ship be broken apart by the waves.  It was a miracle that any of them lived, but for all of them it was even more amazing.
     It looked bleak for them.  It was one bad scenario after another, but they found a way to fight through the despair.  When things are hard, we can get through it.  It may not look better for a long time, but nothing last forever.  There will be better days.

Acts 27:27-44