Shipwrecked

 

    Have you ever made such a mess out of life that it feels like a shipwreck?  Has things happened that make you feel out of control?  Is your life broke, shattered, and adrift?  We all have times in our lives that make us feel lost, alone, and stranded.  It is what we do with that that matters.

    If you are being tossed around by the storm, don't dig your feet in like an anchor.  It will cause you to drown.  You have to go with the storm or you will lose all your energy fighting it.  Your will wreck yourself in the process which is a lot harder to fix than storm damage.

    When your life is a shipwreck, don't panic.  Don't try to fix everything on your own.  Turn to prayer, God's Word, meditation, and good prayer partners.  Fast and prayer work well together in situations like this.  Do not abandon the people that are with you.  You need each other.  Decide that you will get through it together.  Do not allow fear to drive your decisions.  

    In Paul's shipwreck the soldiers wanted to escape and leave the prisoners to die, but it was decided that everyone would live or everyone would perish together.  They went 14 days without food.  It did not look good.  It really looked like no one would survive, but then an angel came to Paul to ensure God's protection.

    Shipwrecks are dangerous.  Odds of survival a slim, but when people work together instead of every man for himself, then changes of survival increase.  Never give up hope of being rescued.  No matter what caused your shipwreck, if you turn to God, then you have hope.  Remember that God has a plan for everything, even how to work with your bad decisions.

    When you are wrecked, you go into survival mode.  You need food, water, and sleep.  You can let everything else go until you are rescued.  Recovery takes a long time.  Use prayer and devotional time with God to recover.  Do not rush the process because God will take His time revealing things to you.  Once you are better, you can start encouraging other people who are living in the wreckage of their lives.

Acts 27:21-44, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 1 Timothy 1:18-20, Hebrews 6:13-20