HONEY ISLAND

Ask yourself: In what way, today, have I invited God to speak to me? At what point have I not just said but behaved as though I am listening? A crucial element of our faith is to be receptive to God. If, like Paul, you found yourself shipwrecked on a small island in the middle of a stormy sea, would you have the faith to discover hope and purpose in the situation?

It is easy to answer yes in the metaphorical sense. But when life leaves us stranded in a situation we did not foresee and do not want to be in, hope and purpose are usually lost to us. The shipwrecked crew in Acts 28 had just personally experienced the grace and power of God that resulted in the retention of their lives. A little sea-beaten but alive in faith and fresh off of the rescue, God was able to exemplify why, out of any island, the one they had come to was honey island.

• HONEY ISLAND

Paul and company discovered themselves to be preserved and on new land... albeit shipwrecked, on an island called Melita, "honey". So often is that the result of our fight in faith, feeling shipwrecked in a new place. We wrestle to subdue the parts within and around us that are not in alignment with God's word and find ourselves on new, unfamiliar ground. But the truth is: that ground is holy, that ground is honey.

In Psalm 119:30 God's word is described as sweet as honey; and throughout the Bible, honey is a representation of faith and health, and the wisdom and love of God. And so to arrive on honey island after a literal and spiritual battle is to arrive into blessing. Honey island is that haven faith brought you to just before you lost or gave up completely. Honey island is the place where God is most efficiently able to heal and restore you, because you have finally arrived in a place where you invite Him to do so. 

The men aboard the ship with Paul had just submitted themselves to God's will. Before God would restore them to voyage, they needed time with Him. To bask in His love and instruction, to become strong enough to retain their faith once restored to their original purposes. From this we can understand how important it is to have the special, isolated time with God. He won't simply send us back out into the world on flimsy faith. We need to build the relationship, experience life from His perspective and observe what is is to operate in accordance with His will. 

• NO LITTLE KINDNESS 

Unforeseen arrivals in an unknown land, Paul and the crew could fully expect not to be welcomed by the island's inhabitants. The opposite happened: all surviving men of the shipwreck were met with extreme kindness and care. They were cold and wet and without bribe or even request were warmed with fire. 

The process of building strength, even spiritual strength, requires time. A new commitment, even a wholehearted one, is often weak and in need of coddling. We have to build our relationship with God. Trust is not an on/off switch. Love is not a well. We can't simply fall into it and remain. Each is a voyage, a process. And thus it is only through walking that we begin to build and grow those things.

What we can expect is that will provide the fire. Cold and wet or weak as we may be, God supports us in that time. New in faith (or in the renewing of faith or a new area of faith) we are seen by God as a fawn or hatching. A small thing in need of support and nourishment. That is the word and will of God. So dependent on it, we must ask ourselves if we have been receptive to it. God is providing, are we receiving? 

• BECAUSE OF THE HEAT

Faith formed in our lives is a fire. Faith ignites inspiration and courage within it. It ignites our determination and passion and purpose. And when we are fired up in such things, it makes sense that the injustices we begin to contend with will bite. 

Paul did a good thing. No matter where he was: on the road; in a prison; or shipwrecked on a island, Paul brought people to God. It was the work and purpose of his life. As the fire grew hotter and began to warm the people around it, a venomous viper came out and bit Paul in the hand. The bite has spiritual implications. 

In the fight for justice we will meet resistance. In the preaching of scripture we will face rejection and even hostility. And that rejection and hostility will always intend to stop our work. To bite our hand, to ultimately thwart our purpose. And that viper, in whatever form it comes in, will  have the power to do so... if we have not been receptive to God. 

The inhabitants of the island were certain that Paul would die. A bite from such a danger could not be survived. And they were right. It could not be survived... without God. There is so much that we cannot do and cannot survive if we are not accessing, through faith, the power and strength of God. But Paul had been receptive to God; he was accessing those holy storehouses and therefore he was impervious to the bite.

God wants us to understand that when we are doing the work of the Kingdom of God we may be confronted by enemies but will never be subdued by them. When we are plugged into faith, we have the nourishment to persevere through derailment. God's protection over us will astound others: the islanders thought Paul a supernatural being because of he survived.

But as God's children, we know the truth. God has told us:Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, James 4:7. As Paul did, shake the enemies off and continue to preserve in spiritual purpose: in loving others, in providing for family, in assisting strangers and supporting the weak. 

There is an insufficient number of people working such causes! Matthew 9:35-38 tells us so:

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

God will protect the laborers because they are few and desperately needed. Those who have welcomed the power and love of God into theirs lives are best able to project it into the lives of others. God's purpose has always been to perpetuate the kingdom, to gather its members and care for them. When we join in that work, our survival is not just crucial but also arranged by God. And when we do eventually come to an end here, as all on earth must do, we will have provided many others with their start. We need not fear the bite of the viper.

• YE ARE GODS 

The islanders were so amazed by Paul's survival that they thought him a god. In John 10:34-35, Jesus referred to God's children as gods. Not because of any power we have of our own. Not because we are better or smarter or more valued but because we have welcomed the power of God into our lives, our hands, our efforts. Our impact on the world is godly because it is done by God through us. Without His wisdom, strength and courage we would fail. 

Paul, the other apostles and disciples were able to heal in immediate and visible ways. The way we heal now is a little different. The same God is able to conquer the same illnesses but spirituality has become more complex. We are stronger now, made able to thrive despite illness. The healing we receive now is of the spirit. We are revived, restored to life. Sometimes we heal in physical ways, like Paul healed the father of Publius in this chapter, and sometimes we do not. But either way, we are a message. A strength, meant to exemplify to others the power of the Spirit of God with us.

Honey island now, is a personal and spiritual experience. We are healed of everything we bring to God, and then are abundantly supplied for our journey back into the world to live, preach with our lives of the honey that is God's word and love.

• BOUND FOR HOPE

The machinations of men, the enemies of Paul, would have made his journey to Rome entirely nonsensical. Paul was innocent and certainly not worthy of death. They had no truthful claims against him. But because Paul was an agent of God's will, there was purpose in the journey.

Paul explained "it is for the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain, (Acts 28:20)" God will ensure there is purpose in every day that we live for Him. We need only to be receptive to what instructions He has for us each day. Broadly, we are meant to love others, uphold justice, and support the weak. What that looks like in detail is particular to the individual. 

Take heart that whatever chain you bear, God use it to benefit you and others and then will break it. 1 Peter 5:10 states:

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

We must have and endure the journey of the struggle in order to build the spiritual muscle to come out of it stronger. Wiser. More perceptive and objective and just and compassionate. That time of suffering is packed with nutrients we need to grow in faith, and strength and character. It is packed with the seeds we need to grow great things. That time prepares us to move the mountains God has said we would move.

Although they feel real, the chains in our lives are like play handcuffs. They are temporary, removable and God has the key. To unlock them, we need only to listen to and trust and follow Him to where the key is kept. And in the meantime we must live as Paul lived:

Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

We must live quite undeterred in our mission to perpetuate God's love and receive it also for ourselves. The journey for Paul could  have been ridiculous and a waste of time. It could have been a depressant and an end. Instead Paul kept His eyes on God, his life on track, and his faith forward. His life resulted in blessing.

EUROCLYDON

"When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon." Acts 27:13-14

It began a difficult journey: a ship bound for Rome, and the apostle Paul bound in chains. Paul had been apprehended for preaching God's word. Paul's scripture-based preaching infuriated the Pharisees and Sadducees, two sects which denied the resurrection of Jesus. Fearful of their loss in power, as Paul's preaching was converting many away from their doctrine, they sought to capture and kill Paul. They accused him of sedition (noun. conduct or speech inciting or causing people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch). 

Paul's Roman citizenship meant that his captors had to hold his trial in Rome (Acts 25:10-11). Not only did this preserve Paul's life, his supposed crimes might have gotten him killed in Jerusalem, but would not qualify for death in Rome, but it also fit neatly into God's plan. God had previously informed him that He intended Paul to be in Rome: "the Lord stood by him and said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome'" (Acts 23:11).

And so they set out for Rome, but the waters were tumultuous and dangerous. It was immediately apparent to Paul that the voyage would result in disaster: the loss of the cargo and possibly the lives of those on the ship. But the centurion (commander) decided to take the advice of the helmsman rather than that of Paul.

They sailed right into the Euroclydon winds, a cyclical, tempestuous wind. Control of the ship was lost as it tossed in the sea; the crew did all they could to keep it afloat. Days passed of the fight to stay alive. Storm clouds blocked the sun and stars and stifled the hope of the men on the ship. As the winds and waters continued to beat down on them and their ship, no longer did they believe they would survive.

Meanwhile, Paul appealed to God through abstinence. If the journey was to be survived, Paul knew that it would be by the Hand of God. Paul's fast allowed him to review the situation, reflect on the decisions made that led to it, and hear with clarity God's plan of restoration out from it. From here, the journey documented in scripture helps us to survive the Euroclydon winds in our own lives.

• NEITHER SUN NOR STARS

Hopelessness and defeat are perhaps the most able to extinguish a person's faith. Sometimes the darkness of the storms in our lives are so comprehensive that we lose sight and even remembrance of the light. The crew on the ship were not like Paul. They followed the advice of men rather than the plan of God. Their rejection of God's plan may have been inadvertent but the result was the same. 

Sometimes our desire to do something or for something to be done is so fierce that we ignore common sense in favor of impatience. Like the men on the ship, we have it in our minds that we must be certain places at certain times. Things to do. People to meet. Money to make. Prospects to take. We want all of it to occur on a timely schedule, a schedule in accordance with our impatience rather than God's plan.

Paul presented the men on the ship with a choice: wait and have a smooth voyage, go and possibly lose your life to a difficult one. They chose difficult, and so often do we. But that sort of thinking propels us directly into cyclical winds too. We go around and around making the same mistakes, beating back the same fierce seas, desperate to stay afloat until we finally lose the hope that its even possible anymore.

The absence of sun and stars made it impossible for the crew to navigate the ship. They were tossed, lost and without hope. Which is a place many of us find ourselves to be in at times. Distress causes us to lose all ability to navigate the sometimes-rough waters of circumstance and emotion. Feelings of rejection, hopelessness, isolation, fear, anger, and impatience cause to behave erratically. That erratic behavior directly contradicts God's promises to us:

Rather than rejected we are chosen by Him, Ephesians 1:4. There is no such thing as hopelessness for a child of God, within the kingdom of God, hope is in constant supply, Malachi 3:10. We cannot be isolated from the presence or promise of God, Matthew 28:20. 

That erratic behavior directly contradicts God's instruction given to us: 

Do not fear, John 14:27. Do not be angry, Ephesians 4:26-27. Wait on the Lord, Psalm 27:14.

Extraordinarily, God has provided the emotional and practical instructions on how to survive the storm. Sometimes, in order to actually apply them to our behavior, we need to lighten the ship.

• LIGHTENING THE SHIP

Paul knew what to do in that darkness. Paul knew that he would make it to Rome because God had told him he would. Paul's advice and prayer and fasting was for the purpose of the preservation of the people with him. They were sinking. What do we do when we are sinking? We toss out the things that are causing us to sink. We remove from our ship, life, the things causing the water to weight us down. Paul did this through a fast. Sometimes a fast is about food, but other times a fast is the jettison of distractions. Secular distractions: attitudes, activities and other things that have no religious or spiritual basis. 

The world is full of secular distractions. The attainment of power and celebrity are cultivated by cultures around the world. The desire for control and admiration distracts us from giving and humility. The abundance and attainability of material wealth induces a desperate want of things. Our value of the material causes us to undervalue the actual substance of life. We corrupt the even the biosphere we rely on to exist in order to make and buy and have and use things. We neglect others' basic human rights and needs to pursue our own agendas, secure our own borders, protect our own reputation, clear our own day, have our own fun, claim our own rights and needs.

And so sometimes we need to jettison the things that perpetuate in our lives the distractions of our culture: the social media and music, biased news sources, commercialism and celebrity. We need to clear our lives of the distractions which cause the cloud coverage that blocks the sun and stars. The hope and the lighthouse that is God. We need to learn to be more aware of our susceptibility to the things our world says we should want. 

God is able to strengthen us. His love and instruction render us less vulnerable to the desperate desire of filling our bodies, souls and lives with those corrosive distractions. We need to clear the space, we need to jettison those things.

• TO TAKE NOURISHMENT

And then we need to be filled in. Once we have thrown overboard the distractions, we need to fill ourselves with something ordered and solid. We need meat and bread, that is: the deep and thorough word of God. Paul encouraged the crew to eat: "Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival..." Indeed this is for your survival. God urges us to stop ingesting empty calories. To stop taking in the secular world as though it could ever possible sustain us. 

Our souls need actual, spiritual nourishment. Things and fame and vanity are empty. The fruit of impatience is unsatisfactory and insufficient. Like Paul, fast the distractions and then take the bread. Live with gratitude for the One who pointed out the problem and then solved it. 

Paul cautioned that only those who remained on the ship would survive. The people who decided to solve their problems on their own would fail. God has capabilities that we do not; the impossible for us is possible for Him, Luke 18:27. The meaning of this is that we cannot leave  the kingdom of God and expect to thrive or even survive. It is God's path that leads to life and safety and blessing. We cannot just abandon ship (pun definitely intended) and expect to be nourished. All along God's path are the fruit and meat that nourish us. Away from from God's path, we might sustain ourselves but God has bigger plans than for us to be merely sustained. He has plans for us to live, thrive and survive. 

We must throw the junk out and fill ourselves with love and patience, humility and compassion. Easy as it is to give in to our cravings and binge on our temptations, we have to train, spiritually, until we are stronger than that impulse. The impulse to let loose our anger, feed our desire, act on our impatience. It is the nourishment that God provides which grows within us the muscle subdue the things, people and emotions that have power over us. 

God will get you to where you need to be. The storms become irrelevant when you choose God as your helmsman, the One to navigate your ship. Your life. You may not, at times, see the sun or stars. You may feel hopeless, but you must remember that God is the light. God provides the hope. Jettison the distractions and the clouds with dissipate, the sun and stars will be visible once again.