Don't give up here!

When was the last time you were faced with a situation where you thought, "I can't do this anymore"? And I don't mean the fifth piece of cake you were offered... haha.

Rather—and maybe you're feeling that way right now—I'm thinking of a moment when I felt like walls had built up not only in front of me, but behind and beside me that seemed insurmountable. Can you identify? These are usually also the moments when we feel that God no longer speaks to us at all, that He has forgotten us.

Paul experienced this! Yes, Paul! He was transported by ship to Phoenix as a prisoner, knowing he would die because he had confessed Jesus. That trip may sound like a nice boat ride along the island of Crete, but when you know it's going to be your last trip, all you see is the end.

"Where is God?" we ask ourselves. Hadn't Paul done everything for Him? Hadn't he even been imprisoned because of his faith? Here we would already be struggling very hard with our thoughts, wouldn't we?

But worse was yet to come! A dangerous storm arose and drove the ship into the open sea (see Acts 27:14-15 NIV) "When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: ‘Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.’" (Acts 27:20-21 NIV).

This must have been an absolute nightmare! Paul was a prisoner, he knew of his death sentence, now he also found himself hungry in a hurricane(!) and his stomach must have been growling like mad! "Where is God?"

Paul did not give doubts a second of his precious time! He trusted through the hurricane that God had not forgotten him! “But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.”(Acts 27:22 NIV) The German version says: "Do not give up!...Don't be afraid! I trust God."

If you too want such strong faith, you must begin to trust God completely!

I also call out to you today, "Don't give up here! God has not forgotten you!"

You are a miracle!

Déborah

P.S. The texts of this reading come from the daily email A Miracle Every Day. If you would like to receive daily encouragement, I invite you to subscribe to A Miracle Every Day.