As believers we go through the same troubles, trials, and life challenges as unbelievers.  But the difference is this—We can see God at work in the middle of our circumstances!  We can feel His peace replace our fears as we put our trust in Him.  We are reminded daily that we live in this world but we are not of it.  There is a Hope in our being that is higher than our thinking.  Hope lifts us up beyond the ground level of our circumstances when we trust our Father in heaven. God will do what He does with our best interests at heart.  He does not rely on our help, only on our obedience.  He does not expect perfection, on our trust in Him who is perfect in every way.  He is God.  We are not. God always has and always will love us with a love that is relentless and unchanging.

Just look at Paul and his friends!  They shipwrecked in the perfect place!  Malta, an island full of people who welcomed the weary and soaked to the bone and treated them “royally.” The islanders fed them, gave them dry clothes, and took them into their homes.  I love how Dr. Luke, the writer, takes us there with all the details!  We can see it in our minds and almost feel the sand between our toes as the crew of the ship, Paul, and his associates are taken in with care for readily.

Acts 28, The Message

^1-2 Once everyone was accounted for and we realized we had all made it, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The natives went out of their way to be friendly to us. The day was rainy and cold and we were already soaked to the bone, but they built a huge bonfire and gathered us around it.

^3-6 Paul pitched in and helped. He had gathered up a bundle of sticks, but when he put it on the fire, a venomous snake, roused from its sleepiness by the heat, struck his hand and held on. Seeing the snake hanging from Paul’s hand like that, the natives jumped to the conclusion that he was a murderer getting what he deserved. Paul shook the snake off into the fire like it was nothing. They kept expecting him to drop dead, but when it was obvious he wasn’t going to, they jumped to the conclusion that he was a god!

^7-9 The head man in that part of the island was Publius. He took us into his home as his guests, drying us out and putting us up in fine style for the next three days. Publius’s father was sick at the time, down with a high fever and dysentery. Paul went to the old man’s room, and when he laid hands on him and prayed, the man was healed. Word of the healing got around fast, and soon everyone on the island who was sick came and got healed.

Rome

^10-11 We spent a wonderful three months on Malta. They treated us royally, took care of all our needs and outfitted us for the rest of the journey. When an Egyptian ship that had wintered there in the harbor prepared to leave for Italy, we got on board. The ship had a carved Gemini for its figurehead: “the Heavenly Twins.”

^12-14 We put in at Syracuse for three days and then went up the coast to Rhegium. Two days later, with the wind out of the south, we sailed into the Bay of Naples. We found Christian friends there and stayed with them for a week.

^14-16 And then we came to Rome. Friends in Rome heard we were on the way and came out to meet us. One group got as far as Appian Court; another group met us at Three Taverns—emotion-packed meetings, as you can well imagine. Paul, brimming over with praise, led us in prayers of thanksgiving. When we actually entered Rome, they let Paul live in his own private quarters with a soldier who had been assigned to guard him.

^17-20 Three days later, Paul called the Jewish leaders together for a meeting at his house. He said, “The Jews in Jerusalem arrested me on trumped-up charges, and I was taken into custody by the Romans. I assure you that I did absolutely nothing against Jewish laws or Jewish customs. After the Romans investigated the charges and found there was nothing to them, they wanted to set me free, but the Jews objected so fiercely that I was forced to appeal to Caesar. I did this not to accuse them of any wrongdoing or to get our people in trouble with Rome. We’ve had enough trouble through the years that way. I did it for Israel. I asked you to come and listen to me today to make it clear that I’m on Israel’s side, not against her. I’m a hostage here for hope, not doom.”

^21-22 They said, “Nobody wrote warning us about you. And no one has shown up saying anything bad about you. But we would like very much to hear more. The only thing we know about this Christian sect is that nobody seems to have anything good to say about it.”

²³ They agreed on a time. When the day arrived, they came back to his home with a number of their friends. Paul talked to them all day, from morning to evening, explaining everything involved in the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them all about Jesus by pointing out what Moses and the prophets had written about him.

^24-27 Some of them were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe a word of it. When the unbelievers got cantankerous and started bickering with each other, Paul interrupted: “I have just one more thing to say to you. The Holy Spirit sure knew what he was talking about when he addressed our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet:

Go to this people and tell them this:
“You’re going to listen with your ears,
    but you won’t hear a word;
You’re going to stare with your eyes,
    but you won’t see a thing.
These people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
    so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
    so they won’t have to look,
    so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
    and let me heal them.”

²⁸ “You’ve had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list. And believe me, they’re going to receive it with open arms!”

^30-31 Paul lived for two years in his rented house. He welcomed everyone who came to visit. He urgently presented all matters of the kingdom of God. He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We must be reminded at this point that Paul is a prisoner!  But he is treated with respect as he shares the Good News of Jesus’ salvation for all!  God is good, we say often, but do we realize just how great and good God really is?  God is for us, not against us.  We must remember this Truth in all our trials and challenging circumstances and trust Him through the “shipwrecks” of our lives! 

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? —Paul, Romans 8:31

God is the giver of good who stands ready to lovingly pour out His blessings over those fully committed to Him as his children who trust in all His ways.  How do I know?  Over the years, God put just the right people at the worst times in my life to pull me up out of the pit, brush me off, and set my feet on level ground.  God provided a way over, around or through challenging circumstances, according to His plan, in His rescue of me in each season of life.  God never sleeps or takes time off!  God is, and always will be, our Healer, Provider, Protector, the One who sent His Son to be our Savior and now our Lord who guides us into all that is good and right.  This is our God. There is no one like Him!

Paul is the “hostage of hope” to all who believe and call on the Name of Jesus.  He is not a hostage of his circumstances.  Paul writes to the Romans what the Holy Spirit has taught him throughout his new life in Christ;

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” –Paul, Romans 8:28   

“Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

‘For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39

Are you convinced?  Pause to reflect and pray, giving thanks to God!

Paul—The Hostage of Hope to a world seeking rescue while being rescued.  His message: Believe and be saved. 

Lord,

Great are you Lord!  Continue to lead and guide us through all the details of our lives for you said you delight in them!  May we reflect the Light of your Love in all we think, say and do no matter what is happening around us.  Help us to make the most of every opportunity to tell your story of redemption and healing from brokenness.  Thank you for rescuing me with your love and care.  Help us to be Hope not a hindrance.

In Jesus Name, Amen