Unless You All Stay Together

Paul said to the Roman officer and his soldiers, “Unless you all stay together onboard the ship, you have no chance of surviving.”

Acts 27:31 (TPT)

When the winds rise and the ship’s timbers groan, the natural human inclination is to panic. Our innate fight or flight instinct trips and the little amygdala deep in our brain urges, Protect yourself!!!

The soldiers on board Paul’s battered ship to Rome were no different. As they sneakily untied the lifeboats and tried to slip away Paul warned them, “Unless you all stay together onboard the ship, you have no chance of surviving.”

He had shared with them that morning the dream God sent in the night. While he slept, the angel of God came to him and promised no one would perish when they ran aground. 

Perhaps the soldiers remembered that now, and chose to grab onto hope instead of the lifeboats they were reaching for only moments before. In any case, they abandoned the thought of escape and hunkered down for the storm side by side.

And run aground they did, but they did it together.

Together they clung to bits of the ship and made it to shore, where they were received with exceptional kindness and a warm fire.

What is unity if it is not staying together during a storm? Storms are terrifying. The English expression “all hands on deck” comes from ship life when captains commanded all available persons to be alert and engaged on the deck during storms, danger, and battle. 

All hands on deck is a raucous scene, voices rising in fear and complaint, anger and strong opinions until the Captain commands and directs the chaos. The coarse language of soldiers and shipmates has not changed much over the centuries, and neither has the need for unity in a storm. Unity does not necessarily mean friendship. Unity means obedience to the one voice above them all: the Captain. Only His voice can bring order to the chaos. Only His wisdom and authority can bring everyone safely to shore.

The voice of the Captain brings the gnarliest crew together. With Him in command, people who in different circumstances would never even speak to each other perform extraordinary exploits and in the end, they may even forge unforgettable friendships.

We need to all stay together if we want to face the storm rising over the church in the world today. #unity Click To Tweet

We know how it ends. The Lord Himself came to us and told us no one would perish. We will arrive safely at the shore, where exceptional kindness has prepared a place for us to rest.

Stay together, now.

My Lord and Captain, silence the chaos and let us hear Your commands above the rising wind. Help us stay together, eyes on You. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Photo by Nandha kumar on Unsplash