Acts 27:13

New International Version (NIV)

When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.

For Meditation

Isn’t it sad when a much anticipated opportunity becomes a tragedy? But how prevalent is it with us and around us!

We have our minds and hearts set on something. We yearn to be somewhere at a certain time for a much anticipated event. We look forward to something we crave or desire. We may pray about it; even earnestly. And God speaks to us. We hear Him loud and clear, but it’s not what we want to hear. Our heart is in what we want, and so we pretend obedience and bid our time for our opportunity. The sad thing is we often call our opportunity God’s breakthrough.

The passengers on the Alexandrian ship that was carrying prisoner Paul to Rome were not Christians. They yearned for Rome in spite of the prevailing dangerous condition for sailing. God revealed the danger ahead to Paul and he informed the Captain. The captain listened, but gave much credence to the pilot and owner’s opinion. Remember the tragedy of the Titanic? And so they bid their time.

“When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity” and set sail against Paul’s counsel (Act 27:13). The majority won the day because they claimed “the harbor was unsuitable to winter in” (12). But when did God ever change His word by majority vote of humans? The best they hoped for was to reach Phoenix and winter there.

O, the folly of human wisdom that overrules the counsel of our wise God for our pitiful minds!

And so the rest is history.

“Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island … and the ship was caught by the storm (14-15).”

1. Haven’t we grieved many times over tragedies like this?
2. Do you recall the number of times you have said, “I should have listened to that “gentle whisper” from God (1 Kings 19:12) and not the voice of that “gentle south wind (Acts 27:13)”?
3. Consider the number of times we have claimed that our current situation does not meet our expectations; and consequently, we have reached out for something else at the least opportunity? And, how often have we wished we never made that move?
4. How often have we radically altered our situation based on mere hope, set on the wobbly legs of pure speculation?
5. But worse of all, can you bring yourself to the many times we have disregarded godly counsel to our own detriment?

I pray the Spirit of God ministers to our hearts with conviction that would stop us in our tracks, if we are set to embark on a journey based on the blowing of “a gentle south wind” we may be seeing as our opportunity.

So: May you be sensitive to the Spirit of God in all things; and may you wait for God’s opportunity, instead of our own opportunity, which could lead us on a burdensome journey to nowhere.

When we disregard godly counsel for our opportunities, we bargain for tragedies.

Shalom