“And so it was that they all escaped safely to land.” Acts 27:44b
With vivid details, Luke records the dramatic shipwreck involving the apostle Paul and the other 275 people on board (27:26-44). Although it looked like either the sea or the soldiers would kill the apostle and the other prisoners on board, God remained faithful to His promise to bring Paul and “all” on board “safely to land” so Paul could go to Rome (27:44b; cf. 27:24).
It is important to remember that God promises a safe landing, not a smooth journey. Christians will encounter “tribulation” in the world as they follow Jesus (John 16:33). But the “peace of God” is not the absence of storms in our lives, but the presence of Jesus Christ through the storms (cf. John 6:14-21; Philippians 4:6-7). The same voice that spoke this universe into existence out of nothing (Psalm 33:6, 9), can also calm our fears in the midst of our storms (Acts 27:24; cf. John 6:20). We can have His peace because He is with us and He is in control.
Some believers are afraid of not landing safely in heaven when they die because they have been taught that their performance and/or power determines whether they will go to heaven, instead of Jesus’ performance on the cross (John 19:30) and His unlimited power (John 10:28-29). Please remember that God promises that His Holy Spirit, Who has “sealed” all who “have heard…the gospel” and “believed” it, will safely and securely deliver every believer in Jesus to heaven when they die or when they are gathered together in the air to be with Him forever (Ephesians 1:13-14; I Thessalonians 4:16-17). Just as God kept His promise to safely deliver the apostle Paul to Rome, so He will keep His promise to safely deliver all who believe in Jesus to heaven.