The Acts 27 : 34

The Acts 27 : 34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.

When we are in a problem we need to take care to take care of ourselves. All too often we find ourselves so wrapped up in the problem that we fail to take care of ourselves. This was happening to Paul and the others on the ship with him. They were so wrapped up in the storm and trying to save the ship that they were neglecting themselves. As a result they were becoming weak and Got told them to take meat so they would have strength for what was to come. This is not to say that we need to take meat and not prepare for the storm. We are not to wine and dine and let the devil take the details. We have an obligation before God to prepare to the extent he has given us the ability and talents. But beyond this we need to give it up to Him. We cannot prevail in the trials to come our way if we let our bodies become weak and depleted. We need to be as a runner and train and prepare but at the same time take care of our physical needs. We need to take meat.

The other sailors on the ship with Paul must have thought he was daft to tell them to stop and eat during the storm but Paul realized that their lives were in God’s hands and there was nothing they could do but to prepare for what was to come. I would not want to see myself having spent all my energies and talents preparing for something and then to fail just before the line because I failed to take care of my physical needs. These sailors thought they were to save the ship but Paul knew that the ship was lost and they needed to prepare to save their own lives. To do this they would need physical strength and sustenance, they would need to take meat.

 I think the wonderful part of this as well is that God was telling them to take a breather and recognize that even though things seemed bleak God was in control. They needed to take meat for their health and that not a hair would fall form their heads.

In the end I think this verse is just a reminder that when we have done all we can do and have gone as far as our own abilities can take us we need to recognize that God is there and that even though we may be trying to save the ship He is saving our lives and souls. If only the men with Paul had recognized that all their labor was in vain. They were trying so hard to save a doomed ship instead of preparing for what God had next.

How often do we do this? God puts a storm in our path and we expend all out energies on trying to save something that God is wresting away from us to give us something else. These men knew that their lives depended on that ship but Paul knew that their lives depended on God. This is a lesson we all need to learn – the things of this world will pass away. Strong and beautiful today but tomorrow’s rubbish. All that lasts if God and His plans and ways.

If I can just grasp a hold of this and stop worrying about what he has taken away and hold on tight to the fact that I just need to take meat, for my health as not a hair will fall any of our heads. He set my ship on a course with a storm that has destroyed it.

I need now to let it go and trust him that he will protect me and my family and take us to the next stage of our lives. The ship was a temporary vessel to take me to a place but was not, as I thought, a permanent dwelling.

What is next God?