1. Receive: Ask God to prepare your heart and mind to receive the right message as you read His Word. Pray this prayer as you examine God’s Word.
   • Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that Your Holy Spirit guide me in all truth as I begin to study Your Word. Cause the obscure and confusing things to become clear. Give me deeper levels of insight and application in my daily living. Let this insight and understanding of Your Word multiply my hunger, thirst and delight for Your Spirit and Your Word in the deepest places of my soul. Bless me with the courage and strength that I need to heed Your Word and to follow it faithfully. In the most holy and precious name of Jesus I pray, AMEN.
2. Read: Read the following passages from God’s Word in order to gain more knowledge, understanding and wisdom

   • It has been said that, “The only constant in life is change (Heraclitus).” And while intellectually we get it, many of us dislike and are resistant to change. We like things mapped out, spelled out, planned out. We like orderly, and predictable. But we also know that this isn’t real life. So since we know that storms and shifts are inevitable, we should be prepared, so they don’t take us by surprise.

     Storms are defined as violent disturbances of the atmosphere with strong winds, rain, thunder and lightning. Storms can build over time, they can arise gradually or they can strike seemingly out of nowhere. Storms can cause drowning floods, destructive winds and life-threatening lightening- strikes. Funny thing is, storms can be literal or figurative. You know about those storms of life. Those waves of depression that zap your motivation. The winds of stress and strife that strip you of your time and energy . Wave after wave crashing all around you. The mounting debt that you can’t pay, the escalating work responsibilities, the unending grief. Multiplying questions with no answers in sight.

     And just as you begin to get your head above water, here comes another downpour that sends you reeling again. You can hardly catch a breath, before the water threatens to fill your lungs. The storm throws you from that place of victory, joy and delight to a place that’s rocky, unfamiliar, frightening and full of despair. You’re drowning and all your blue skies are grey. You are caught in the eye of the storm.

     Or what about earthquakes? You, know those sudden and unexpected shifts in the earth’s crust
     causing
     sudden and violent shaking and oftentimes great destruction. And just like the earthquakes of the earth, we also experience the kind of shifts in our foundation that causes the ground beneath our feet to give way, shifting us to and fro, causing us to lose our balance, causing things all about us to crumble and
     fall.

     Maybe you can relate to the type of shift where your children go astray, choosing evil over good, defying you at every turn or when sickness invades your body, rendering you weak and frail and void of hope or the kind of shift that robs you of a loved one, stealing your joy as well or the shift that leaves you financially destitute due to unemployment or a bad investment. The kind of shift that has you crying out like Habbakuk, “Why me Lord, and how much longer?”

     Whatever your storm or shift in life, God’s got an answer. So let’s explore His Word together. And after having read and reflected upon God’s Story, I invite you to experience My Story as a reflection of God’s working in my life. Finally, engage in various reflective exercises to support the writing, re-writing and/or sharing of Your Story.

In The Eye of the Storm

Acts 27:13-38

13 When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. 15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. 16 And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. 17 When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. 18 And because we were exceedingly tempest- tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. 19 On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. 20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. 21 But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.” 27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land. 28 And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29 Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off. 33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat. 36 Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves. 37 And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship. 38 So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea. 39 When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible. 40 And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore. 41 But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves. 42 And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land.