Week 19: The Pathway to Purpose – from Shipwrecks to Snakebites

One might expect our journey towards God’s purposes would equate to smooth sailing on
gentle waters. However, my journey into God’s purposes has been inter-woven with dark
threads of pain: the death of a daughter, marital pain, miscarriage, loss of ministry and several
relocations far from the support of family and friends. Those stark threads, however, didn’t
detract from God’s design. They actually served as vivid outlines, illuminating God’s creative
power to use the toughest parts of our stories toward His good purposes.

I think this might be why Paul’s journey toward Rome is so encouraging to me. He knew He was called to share the Gospel with Caesar and whoever would listen in Rome, yet his journey was everything but smooth. (A Great Read: Acts 27-28)

•  His transportation: A Prisoner’s ship loaded with the hardest of criminals. Does your
  mode towards God’s purposes look a bit different and less glamorous than anticipated.
• The sailors faced strong headwinds, driving the ship off course: How many of us
  experience strong headwinds driving us off course from our perceived path towards
  God’s purposes?
• The Loss of all their cargo: What attitudes or expectations do we need to off-load in
  order to endure the trials we face?
• Shipwreck—Paul’s shipmates hit a sandbar and the ship bust to pieces. No one lost their life, however the entire crew spent months on an island far from their intended destination. This off-course delay resulted in an island-wide revival. God’s power was demonstrated to everyone—including the 279 prisoner-shipmates, the island’s king, family and all its residents. People are in heaven today because of a shipwreck that sent Paul and his companions in, what seemed, the wrong direction: Has your journey been fraught with unexpected and costly delays? Take courage, my friend. God might be weaving something far greater than you could imagine or dare to hope for. Over half the miracles in the Gospels would be scratched from the text had Jesus ignored the interruptions and unexpected setbacks during his strategic, three-year ministry (the feeding of the 5000, the healing of the centurion’s child, the woman with the issue of blood, the blind beggar).

• Snakebite-Paul survived the shipwreck, crawled onto shore and immediately served his
  companions by helping to build a fire to warm them. Suddenly, a poisonous snake
  latched onto Paul’s hand. I would definitely call this “a terrible, horrible, not so good,
  very bad day” 1 . Paul overcomes what should have destroyed him. Maybe you think
  certain events are destined to destroy you, God however uses them to amplify His vivid
  power at work in and through your life.

The text humorously writes, “And so we came to Rome!” Wow, what a journey, what a story,
what a testament of God’s ability to use ANY and EVERY HARDSHIP in our life as an anthem of his unfailing goodness.

I don’t doubt you carry some sacred dreams and a sense of purpose in your soul. Don’t grow
discouraged if you experience everything from a shipwreck to a snakebite. God may be weaving
some dark threads into your tapestry to amplify his unfailing goodness and power at work
within your life.

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1 Judith Viorst, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
2 Acts 28:14