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When Life Runs Aground

When Life Runs Aground
Words of Faith 8-23-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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Acts 28
[7] There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. [8] His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. [9] When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. [10] They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

So what do you do when your ship runs aground? After all, Paul had an important mission in Rome. He might have been annoyed by all this delay. Instead, Paul wasted no time in seeking whatever it was that God wanted him to do there!
Malta was a retirement location for various Roman military leaders. The “islanders” were descended from Phoenicians who had landed and settled there. Paul quickly realized that these people needed Jesus, too!
The Lord arranged for Paul and his group to stay a few days in the home of Publius, the governor of the Island. This great provision of hospitality and rest became an even better opportunity to minister. Healing the father of Publius opened the door to pray for many on the island and share the Gospel of Jesus. Paul ministered the Gospel on Malta for three months.
So what do you do when your ship runs aground? The truth is that we don’t always end up where we thought we would. Sometimes we get stuck in places we never imagined! Paul never intended to go to Malta. He never felt called there or he would have gone. But God had a mission for Paul in Malta that He arranged through a shipwreck! Sometimes we end up in a place far from the destination we hoped for. If we look around we will see why.
There is a powerful truth here about God’s sovereignty. God is perfectly capable of stilling any storm and preventing any shipwreck. Sometimes the “groundings” and shipwrecks of life are the consequence of our own sin or bad judgment. Sometimes a shipwreck is the consequence of another person’s bad judgment. But none of this takes God by surprise.
Sometimes the plan we had gets beached simply because God has another plan! We can be certain that Publius and his father never doubted the sovereign plan of God to deliver Paul to their home.
Are you feeling a little shipwrecked? Beached far from where you thought God wanted you to be? Are you beached in a job or marriage or church or location or place in life that you never thought you would be in? Look around! God has a plan. Listen. There are people who need the Lord. Prayers that need to be lifted. God will use you as you listen, trust, and obey.

Lord, show me today the conversations You have planned and the encounters You have designed for me. Keep me tuned to Your Spirit. I am listening and trusting. Help me to obey. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2001, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.