December 1, 2025 • 13 mins
In this Bible Story, Paul endures storms and shipwrecks with his captors on their journey to Rome. The winds and waves are relentless, and the hope of the men is fading. The men are left shipwrecked and defeated on the shores of Malta. This story is inspired by Acts 27. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.
Today's Bible verse is Acts 27:44 from the King James Version.
Episode 240: As Paul was on the ocean on his way to trial, Luke was by his side and the two of them enjoyed a brief reprieve, chatting with the sailors in the open air. However, on their way to Crete, a powerful storm came upon them and began to break the ship apart and flood it with water. But God came to Paul and reassured him that he and the crew would make it to Rome. The storm continued to rage a few more days and then finally let up. As they were about to run the ship aground it caught reef and broke apart. Just as the soldiers were getting ready to kill the prisoners to keep them from escaping, the centurion ordered them to stop for the sake of Paul.
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Producer: Ben Gammon
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Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith
Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, and the rest, some on boards and
some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it
came to pass that they escaped, all safe to land,
Acts twenty seven forty four. As I continue on the
journey to my destiny, and when the storms of life
(00:21):
begin to beat on the ship of my life, I
will urge those around me that God will bring us
through because the Lord is with me. Use me, Lord
to encourage those around me, even my enemies, that you
have not forsaken us just because we have experienced a shipwreck.
(00:42):
Moment through Paul's story in Acts twenty seven, I will
celebrate the fact that whether I come in one piece
or whether my life arrives in pieces, I will get
to my final destination no matter what. Thank you Jesus
that the current of your favor will move me in
(01:02):
the direction of my intended location. I am never lost
when I put my hope and trust in You Lord
in Jesus name, Amen, thank you for making prayer a
priority in your day. To learn more about the Bible,
(01:22):
stay tuned for today's story, brought to you by Bible
in a year dot com.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
The Mighty Storm. In our last story, Paul stood before
King Agrippa, telling his story and facing trial. Agrippa was
pleased with Paul, but did not set him free. Instead,
Paul was sent to Rome, where he would face the
judgment of Caesar. Now we hear of Paul's journey to Rome.
(01:56):
He sets sail with Roman soldiers, sailors, and prisoners. All
seemed well until a mighty storm beat against the ship.
Now Paul is forced to be a leader and comforter
amidst a beast of nature inspired by the Book of Acts.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I'm so glad you've joined us on the Bible in
a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
I want you to know that I would absolutely love
to send you my daily devotional that will give you
fresh encouragement every single morning and day from the moment
we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
the pillow. There are thousands of things demanding our attention,
(02:40):
but it's in the midst of all this crush and
hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
you spend time each day growing in God's life giving,
life changing Word by sending you my free daily email
devotional PowerPoint Today. So visit Jagraham dot org to sign
(03:02):
up for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's Jagraham dot org.
Jack Graham dot org. In our previous time together, Paul
appeared before Felix the governor, and gave his defense against
the false accusations of the Jewish leaders. Felix did not
make a ruling, but left Paul under house arrests for
(03:22):
two years. Then we heard as Paul gave his testimony
before King Agrippa, a compelling, persuasive witness that nearly won
the king for Christ. The king was inclined to release Paul,
but because he had appealed to Caesar, he was sent
off to appear before the most powerful man in the world.
Today we'll hear how Paul, under guard of Roman soldiers
(03:45):
and with his friend and physician Luke by his side,
sails towards Rome. Along the way, a mighty storm will arise,
and Paul will answer the call to comfort those who
feared for their lives. Let's listen now to the day's
word from the Book of Acts.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
The wind blew gently across the Mediterranean Sea. Paul looked
above him, watching the sails flat in the wind. The
seagulls flew idle behind the large sails, watching for any
bread to fall below. Although Paul was going to Rome
to face trial, he was thankful to be out of prison.
The inviting sun and cool ocean breeze restored clarity to
(04:23):
his mind. Although his body still ached from the beating,
he rejoiced that he was able to stand in the sunlight.
Luke was beside him, chronicling every moment of Paul's journey.
He was a doctor and able to tend to Paul's
injuries while out at sea. The two of them spoke
to the sailors, connecting with them about the things of God.
(04:45):
As they sailed across the ocean towards Italy, the south
wind blew softly, giving the captain the go ahead to
set course for Crete. As the sails caught the wind,
the ship picked up speed. Its large frame bounced up
and down over the the ocean wakes. They were drawing
close to shore, and all seemed well until the south
(05:05):
breeze shifted and a strong wind replaced it. The wind
was from the northeast and it was an antagonizing foe
for the captain and his crew. They pulled tightly on
the sails to keep coarse, but the wind was ripping
at the side of the ship, throwing it out. The
crew managed to secure a course along a small island
called Kawdra. However, the wind made it impossible to drop anchor.
(05:28):
They secured the cargo embraced for the wind to thrash
even more. Then the rains came. They beat down relentlessly
like arrows. For days. There were no stars or sun,
only darkness and water. Although the ship had not sunk,
there was no hope for being rescued. As the men
were protecting themselves under the deck. Paul stood up. The
(05:52):
winds howled above them, and the boat was rocking endlessly.
Do not be afraid, men, for God has promised that
we will get out of there. There will be no
loss of life among you, for I am destined to
get to Rome. His words brought little comfort as the
beastly storm roared above them. It had been two weeks
(06:12):
of the unrelenting tempest. They were rationing food, preparing for
an even longer journey ahead. The ship was forced towards
a group of jagged rocks near the island. If the
captain did not act quickly, the whole crew would be lost,
so he ordered for all the anchors to be dropped
at once. The chains were released and the ship was
forced into a steady halt. Before it reached a rocky grave.
(06:35):
The rain beat down even harder, and Paul could see
a faint image of men preparing to jump overboard towards
the rocks. Many of the sailors looked at the rocks
for salvation. They considered jumping ship and swimming for the island,
but Paul urged against it. You will meet an untimely death,
Paul yelled. The men stopped and cursed at Paul, but
(06:57):
they listened. The rain stopped, but the wind continued to howl.
The waves filled the deck with water. They were like
small giants beating against the side of the ship. Paul
saw that the men were losing strength. They had deprived
themselves of food to ration. Paul went down into the
ship to retrieve some bread. He broke it, blessed it,
(07:18):
and fed it to the men. You will need your strength,
Paul said gently. You will not perish because of the
sea or from starvation. The Lord is with you. Paul
continued to smile, grateful for the opportunity to serve his captors.
He was strengthened by the spirit of God. The men
had set sail when the wind subsided and the dawn
(07:38):
broke through the clouds. As the sun rose above the waters,
the dim image of shore revealed itself to the fog.
The men were encouraged and set course to run the
ship onto the sand. However, they did not see the
jagged reef dwelling below. As they approached the shore with hope,
the boat's bottom began to tear apart from the sharp reef.
The men were thrown forward, and the boat's integrity began
(08:01):
to perish. The waves crashed against the stern, and the
entire ship began to seek The soldiers knew that they
had to jump ship. However, they could not control the
prisoners once they were in the water, so they drew
their swords to kill the prisoners on board. The centurion
saw this and ordered his men to stop immediately. He
had grown close to Paul and did not desire to
(08:23):
see him perish, So the sailors, soldiers and prisoners jumped
ship together. The waves crashed over them, and many were
held under the water for minutes at a time. But
the Lord was in the sea. The current pushed them forward,
and the waves hastily threw them towards the shore. Broken
and exhausted, all the men made it safely to shore.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
We began today's reading as Paul begins his journey to Rome,
sailing across the Mediterranean Sea. This was not a non
stop straight shot to Caesar. Their voyage took them to
ports throughout a Paul, though a prisoner, enjoyed a degree
of freedom as they traveled, even getting to visit friends
in port cities as they stopped. Luke was traveling with Paul,
(09:10):
chronicling the trip and caring for Paul as his personal physician.
As they traveled. Paul and Luke would no doubt have
shared the Gospel with Roman soldiers and the sailors on
the ship. As their time at sea lengthened, the waters
became less and less favorable for sailing. Paul even warned
the Centurions that their voyage would prove to be costly,
(09:31):
both in supplies and their own well being. But the
Centurion listened to the captain of the ship and moved forward. Then,
just as Paul had predicted, as they sailed a course
for crete, the winds began to pick up, and soon
they were caught up in a storm that was too
mighty for the ship to deal with. They were blown
off course, and as they hung on for dear life,
(09:53):
they began tossing cargo and tackle overboard. If you've ever
been on a rough sea, you know how different dificult
this can be, even if it's just for a short while.
They were in this storm three days, with no stars
or sun in the sky to guide them. The crew
and the passengers had been many days without food. They
were weary and worried, to the point that they lost
(10:16):
all hope of survival. That's when Paul stood up and
spoke to them, saying an angel of the Lord had
appeared to him, telling him he was to appear before Caesar,
and that his God had promised that no life would
be lost, only the ship. Then, in Acts twenty seven
twenty five, he says this, so take heart, men, for
(10:36):
I have faith in God that it will be exactly
as I have been told. When we find ourselves in
the middle of the storms of life, we need to
ask God to teach us as to how He can
grow us and our faith. We can always advance positively
through adversity. But here's something else we need to remember.
God puts us in storms not only to perfect and
(10:58):
correct us, but to use us to be a witness
and a testimony to others. When we fight our own
battles or face our own storms, we have an opportunity
to trust in God and to show our faith as
well as share our faith with others. We have seen
time and again in scripture how God works in the
storms of life to reveal his powerful, miraculous, mighty hand
(11:20):
in order to turn people to him. This is another
example of how to deal with the storms of life.
Paul the prisoner was now Paul the Leader and comforter.
Again he is Paul the Pastor. He urged the captain
to run the ship ashore, for this was the only
way to save those on board. The storm, which had
(11:40):
lasted two weeks already, was still not over. They were
without hardly any strength, so Paul broke some of the
remaining bread, thanking God and giving it to the men
to eat. They navigated to an island and began trying
to find a safe place away from the rocks to land,
but to no avail, as the ship was forced to
paeriless rocks, they ran into a reef. The ship was lost,
(12:04):
but land was within reach. The soldiers feared the prisoners
would escape, which would mean death for the soldiers for
their failure, so they planned to kill them, including Paul. Fortunately,
the centurion had grown to trust Paul and stop them.
Everyone on the ship reached land safely, just as Paul
had said. Once again, God's promises proved true as they
(12:26):
always do. This experience, though terrifying, enable Paul to minister
to lost men and point them to the God who saves.
You may not understand why life storms come up, but
when they do, God will use you to point others
to Jesus if you will let him. Let's pray, Dear God,
(12:47):
thank you that through the storms of life, that you
are always with us to give us courage and strength.
We thank you for your presence, your powerful presence in
our lives. We pray that we would comfort others with
the comfort that we are comforted and the courage that
you give us that we would impart to others. Thank
you for today's reading that reminds us of this truth.
(13:10):
In Jesus' name, Amen, thank you for listening to Today's
Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas,
and before we go, I want you to know that
I would love to send you my daily devotional to
give you fresh encouragement every single day. So visit Jack
Graham dot org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
(13:32):
That's Jack Graham dot org
Let us pray, and the rest, some on boards and
some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it
came to pass that they escaped, all safe to land,
Acts twenty seven forty four. As I continue on the
journey to my destiny, and when the storms of life
(00:21):
begin to beat on the ship of my life, I
will urge those around me that God will bring us
through because the Lord is with me. Use me, Lord
to encourage those around me, even my enemies, that you
have not forsaken us just because we have experienced a shipwreck.
(00:42):
Moment through Paul's story in Acts twenty seven, I will
celebrate the fact that whether I come in one piece
or whether my life arrives in pieces, I will get
to my final destination no matter what. Thank you Jesus
that the current of your favor will move me in
(01:02):
the direction of my intended location. I am never lost
when I put my hope and trust in You Lord
in Jesus name, Amen, thank you for making prayer a
priority in your day. To learn more about the Bible,
(01:22):
stay tuned for today's story, brought to you by Bible
in a year dot com.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
The Mighty Storm. In our last story, Paul stood before
King Agrippa, telling his story and facing trial. Agrippa was
pleased with Paul, but did not set him free. Instead,
Paul was sent to Rome, where he would face the
judgment of Caesar. Now we hear of Paul's journey to Rome.
(01:56):
He sets sail with Roman soldiers, sailors, and prisoners. All
seemed well until a mighty storm beat against the ship.
Now Paul is forced to be a leader and comforter
amidst a beast of nature inspired by the Book of Acts.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I'm so glad you've joined us on the Bible in
a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
I want you to know that I would absolutely love
to send you my daily devotional that will give you
fresh encouragement every single morning and day from the moment
we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
the pillow. There are thousands of things demanding our attention,
(02:40):
but it's in the midst of all this crush and
hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
you spend time each day growing in God's life giving,
life changing Word by sending you my free daily email
devotional PowerPoint Today. So visit Jagraham dot org to sign
(03:02):
up for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's Jagraham dot org.
Jack Graham dot org. In our previous time together, Paul
appeared before Felix the governor, and gave his defense against
the false accusations of the Jewish leaders. Felix did not
make a ruling, but left Paul under house arrests for
(03:22):
two years. Then we heard as Paul gave his testimony
before King Agrippa, a compelling, persuasive witness that nearly won
the king for Christ. The king was inclined to release Paul,
but because he had appealed to Caesar, he was sent
off to appear before the most powerful man in the world.
Today we'll hear how Paul, under guard of Roman soldiers
(03:45):
and with his friend and physician Luke by his side,
sails towards Rome. Along the way, a mighty storm will arise,
and Paul will answer the call to comfort those who
feared for their lives. Let's listen now to the day's
word from the Book of Acts.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
The wind blew gently across the Mediterranean Sea. Paul looked
above him, watching the sails flat in the wind. The
seagulls flew idle behind the large sails, watching for any
bread to fall below. Although Paul was going to Rome
to face trial, he was thankful to be out of prison.
The inviting sun and cool ocean breeze restored clarity to
(04:23):
his mind. Although his body still ached from the beating,
he rejoiced that he was able to stand in the sunlight.
Luke was beside him, chronicling every moment of Paul's journey.
He was a doctor and able to tend to Paul's
injuries while out at sea. The two of them spoke
to the sailors, connecting with them about the things of God.
(04:45):
As they sailed across the ocean towards Italy, the south
wind blew softly, giving the captain the go ahead to
set course for Crete. As the sails caught the wind,
the ship picked up speed. Its large frame bounced up
and down over the the ocean wakes. They were drawing
close to shore, and all seemed well until the south
(05:05):
breeze shifted and a strong wind replaced it. The wind
was from the northeast and it was an antagonizing foe
for the captain and his crew. They pulled tightly on
the sails to keep coarse, but the wind was ripping
at the side of the ship, throwing it out. The
crew managed to secure a course along a small island
called Kawdra. However, the wind made it impossible to drop anchor.
(05:28):
They secured the cargo embraced for the wind to thrash
even more. Then the rains came. They beat down relentlessly
like arrows. For days. There were no stars or sun,
only darkness and water. Although the ship had not sunk,
there was no hope for being rescued. As the men
were protecting themselves under the deck. Paul stood up. The
(05:52):
winds howled above them, and the boat was rocking endlessly.
Do not be afraid, men, for God has promised that
we will get out of there. There will be no
loss of life among you, for I am destined to
get to Rome. His words brought little comfort as the
beastly storm roared above them. It had been two weeks
(06:12):
of the unrelenting tempest. They were rationing food, preparing for
an even longer journey ahead. The ship was forced towards
a group of jagged rocks near the island. If the
captain did not act quickly, the whole crew would be lost,
so he ordered for all the anchors to be dropped
at once. The chains were released and the ship was
forced into a steady halt. Before it reached a rocky grave.
(06:35):
The rain beat down even harder, and Paul could see
a faint image of men preparing to jump overboard towards
the rocks. Many of the sailors looked at the rocks
for salvation. They considered jumping ship and swimming for the island,
but Paul urged against it. You will meet an untimely death,
Paul yelled. The men stopped and cursed at Paul, but
(06:57):
they listened. The rain stopped, but the wind continued to howl.
The waves filled the deck with water. They were like
small giants beating against the side of the ship. Paul
saw that the men were losing strength. They had deprived
themselves of food to ration. Paul went down into the
ship to retrieve some bread. He broke it, blessed it,
(07:18):
and fed it to the men. You will need your strength,
Paul said gently. You will not perish because of the
sea or from starvation. The Lord is with you. Paul
continued to smile, grateful for the opportunity to serve his captors.
He was strengthened by the spirit of God. The men
had set sail when the wind subsided and the dawn
(07:38):
broke through the clouds. As the sun rose above the waters,
the dim image of shore revealed itself to the fog.
The men were encouraged and set course to run the
ship onto the sand. However, they did not see the
jagged reef dwelling below. As they approached the shore with hope,
the boat's bottom began to tear apart from the sharp reef.
The men were thrown forward, and the boat's integrity began
(08:01):
to perish. The waves crashed against the stern, and the
entire ship began to seek The soldiers knew that they
had to jump ship. However, they could not control the
prisoners once they were in the water, so they drew
their swords to kill the prisoners on board. The centurion
saw this and ordered his men to stop immediately. He
had grown close to Paul and did not desire to
(08:23):
see him perish, So the sailors, soldiers and prisoners jumped
ship together. The waves crashed over them, and many were
held under the water for minutes at a time. But
the Lord was in the sea. The current pushed them forward,
and the waves hastily threw them towards the shore. Broken
and exhausted, all the men made it safely to shore.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
We began today's reading as Paul begins his journey to Rome,
sailing across the Mediterranean Sea. This was not a non
stop straight shot to Caesar. Their voyage took them to
ports throughout a Paul, though a prisoner, enjoyed a degree
of freedom as they traveled, even getting to visit friends
in port cities as they stopped. Luke was traveling with Paul,
(09:10):
chronicling the trip and caring for Paul as his personal physician.
As they traveled. Paul and Luke would no doubt have
shared the Gospel with Roman soldiers and the sailors on
the ship. As their time at sea lengthened, the waters
became less and less favorable for sailing. Paul even warned
the Centurions that their voyage would prove to be costly,
(09:31):
both in supplies and their own well being. But the
Centurion listened to the captain of the ship and moved forward. Then,
just as Paul had predicted, as they sailed a course
for crete, the winds began to pick up, and soon
they were caught up in a storm that was too
mighty for the ship to deal with. They were blown
off course, and as they hung on for dear life,
(09:53):
they began tossing cargo and tackle overboard. If you've ever
been on a rough sea, you know how different dificult
this can be, even if it's just for a short while.
They were in this storm three days, with no stars
or sun in the sky to guide them. The crew
and the passengers had been many days without food. They
were weary and worried, to the point that they lost
(10:16):
all hope of survival. That's when Paul stood up and
spoke to them, saying an angel of the Lord had
appeared to him, telling him he was to appear before Caesar,
and that his God had promised that no life would
be lost, only the ship. Then, in Acts twenty seven
twenty five, he says this, so take heart, men, for
(10:36):
I have faith in God that it will be exactly
as I have been told. When we find ourselves in
the middle of the storms of life, we need to
ask God to teach us as to how He can
grow us and our faith. We can always advance positively
through adversity. But here's something else we need to remember.
God puts us in storms not only to perfect and
(10:58):
correct us, but to use us to be a witness
and a testimony to others. When we fight our own
battles or face our own storms, we have an opportunity
to trust in God and to show our faith as
well as share our faith with others. We have seen
time and again in scripture how God works in the
storms of life to reveal his powerful, miraculous, mighty hand
(11:20):
in order to turn people to him. This is another
example of how to deal with the storms of life.
Paul the prisoner was now Paul the Leader and comforter.
Again he is Paul the Pastor. He urged the captain
to run the ship ashore, for this was the only
way to save those on board. The storm, which had
(11:40):
lasted two weeks already, was still not over. They were
without hardly any strength, so Paul broke some of the
remaining bread, thanking God and giving it to the men
to eat. They navigated to an island and began trying
to find a safe place away from the rocks to land,
but to no avail, as the ship was forced to
paeriless rocks, they ran into a reef. The ship was lost,
(12:04):
but land was within reach. The soldiers feared the prisoners
would escape, which would mean death for the soldiers for
their failure, so they planned to kill them, including Paul. Fortunately,
the centurion had grown to trust Paul and stop them.
Everyone on the ship reached land safely, just as Paul
had said. Once again, God's promises proved true as they
(12:26):
always do. This experience, though terrifying, enable Paul to minister
to lost men and point them to the God who saves.
You may not understand why life storms come up, but
when they do, God will use you to point others
to Jesus if you will let him. Let's pray, Dear God,
(12:47):
thank you that through the storms of life, that you
are always with us to give us courage and strength.
We thank you for your presence, your powerful presence in
our lives. We pray that we would comfort others with
the comfort that we are comforted and the courage that
you give us that we would impart to others. Thank
you for today's reading that reminds us of this truth.
(13:10):
In Jesus' name, Amen, thank you for listening to Today's
Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas,
and before we go, I want you to know that
I would love to send you my daily devotional to
give you fresh encouragement every single day. So visit Jack
Graham dot org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
(13:32):
That's Jack Graham dot org
Host
Jack Graham
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