I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.

Acts 27:21-44 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When many had lost their appetites, Paul then stood among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice and not have set sail from Crete, and thereby spared yourselves this damage and loss. ²² And yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³ For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I also serve, came to me, ²⁴ saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has graciously granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ ²⁵ Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. ²⁶ But we must run aground on a certain island.”

²⁷ But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land. ²⁸ And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. ²⁹ Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak. ³⁰ But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, ³¹ Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” ³² Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

³³ Until the day was about to dawn, Paul kept encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken in nothing. ³⁴ Therefore, I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your survival, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” ³⁵ Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all, and he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶ All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food. ³⁷ We were 276 people on the ship in all. ³⁸ When they had eaten enough, they began lightening the ship by throwing the wheat out into the sea.

³⁹ Now when day came, they could not recognize the land; but they did notice a bay with a beach, and they resolved to run the ship onto it if they could. ⁴⁰ And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and they hoisted the foresail to the wind and were heading for the beach. ⁴¹ But they struck a reef where two seas met and ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck firmly and remained immovable, while the stern started to break up due to the force of the waves. ⁴² The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; ⁴³ but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from accomplishing their intention, and commanded that those who could swim were to jump overboard first and get to land, ⁴⁴ and the rest were to follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.

In Isaiah 55:10-11 God says: As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it produce and sprout, And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it. In today’s text it says: Paul then stood among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice and not have set sail from Crete, and thereby spared yourselves this damage and loss. And yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I also serve, came to me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has graciously granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on a certain island.”  What God has said, He will do. What He has spoken will come to pass. In Numbers 23:19 God says: God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

In Jeremiah 29:11 God says: I know the plans that I have for you, plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  If God will do what He says He will do, and if He has good plans for us, it is vital that we know what God says. Amos 3:7 says: Certainly the Lord GOD does nothing Unless He reveals His secret plan To His servants the prophets.  God will speak through His prophets. He will speak as He did to Paul, through angels. He might speak through dreams or visions. The one thing that we can be sure of is that what God is saying, will never contradict what He has said. The words of a prophet and the revelation of a dream or vision must be aligned with and interpreted through the word of God. In John 17:17 Jesus says: Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Anything that God is saying will align with the truth of His word. Prophets may be wrong or false. Not every dream or vision is from God, but His word always remains true. If we want to know God’s plan for us, we should know what He said.

In the text it says: When the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land. And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak. But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.  Along with knowing what God has said, if we want to enjoy the fulness of His plan for us, we also need to be obedient to His word. We need to do what He says to do. There are times when we don’t understand what God seems to be doing or how He will accomplish what He has said. The circumstances make it seem like the outcome will not be good. In Isaiah 55:8-9, just before saying His word will do what He intends it to do, God says: My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. Far too often we tend to wait until there seems to be know other way before we trust and obey God’s way. In John 14:6 Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” Rather than struggling and striving on our own way, we should trust and obey His way. In Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus says: “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

When we walk with the Lord
  In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
  While we do His good will,
  He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

    Trust and obey,
    For there's no other way
    To be happy in Jesus,
      But to trust and obey. Amen.