Acts 27: 23 – 24  Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, “Do not be afraid Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.”

What do you do when you fall victim to a miscalculation? You or someone else made a decision based on certain assumptions and the results have either been disastrous or have fallen far short of expectations. In this kind of situation you have to recall what God has said to you directly. Do not give in to the apparent hopelessness of the situation in front of you. As believers, we are called to live by faith in God, not in our human wisdom.

Chapters 27 and 28 of the Book of Acts tell us about a part of Paul’s journey to Rome. We know his trip was in the will of God because in Acts 9:15 God had revealed his mission in very specific terms to Ananias by whose laying on of hands Paul received the Holy Spirit and the restoration of his sight: “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” The seat of power in Paul’s day was in Rome. Why then did he get caught in this tremendous storm? The miscalculation as to when to depart was not even his. The only reason Paul knew for sure that this was not his end was because of the reassurance overnight by the angel of God.

Mistakes are a normal part of life and God comes to his children in the storms because he has covenanted himself to them. He is the only One who knows the end from the beginning. Whatever he has ordained will come to pass. Paul would get to Rome, despite the delays and detours. I was meditating on the events in these two chapters in the Book of Acts when the Holy Spirit magnified God’s “Fear Not” to me in this way:

“Have I spoken and shall I not fulfill? My works go before me. I delight to reveal my will to my children to the end that they should walk aright and not stumble in the dark. At times I lay it all out that they may know that I am guiding and directing events, for I am the Almighty God knowing the end from the beginning. You should not worry nor struggle trying to control what shall be. Listen to my voice and I shall daily guide you to follow me.”