'I Believe God'

And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. - Acts 27:18-25

    Here is a tried, tempest-tossed believer full of comfort and comforting others. He describes the source and cause of his comfort in three words: 'I believe God.' Because he believed God, Paul was confident that God would do what he said. He was full of comfort regarding his own life and destiny. And he had a word of comfort for those who were in the tempest-tossed ship with him. What an example of faith the Holy Spirit holds before us here!

    It is astonishing that we should need examples of faith and encouragements to believe God, but we do. Faith in our God should be, to regenerate men and women, a matter of fact. But often our hearts blush with shame because of unbelief. One of the most glaring evidences of human depravity is the fact that even men and women who are born of God struggle with unbelief. We are so fallen, so depraved, even in our regenerate state, that we dare question and doubt the living God! Some little trial comes our way, some slight ruffle, and we are out of sorts. We begin to worry, murmur, complain and feel sorry for ourselves. How easily our hearts are troubled! We ought to trust our God completely. In all things he is true and faithful. His covenant is sure. His oath stands fast. His word cannot be broken. His promises are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus. God cannot lie. It is impossible for him to deny himself. We ought to trust him unreservedly. That which God has promised, we have every reason to believe.

    Meditate upon Paul's statement in the context in which it is found. As you read Acts 27, you cannot avoid the fact that the primary theme of the narrative is not the journey, or even the storm at sea, but the faith of a man who believed God. That is the context in which we find these words: 'I believe God.'

    1. Paul's faith was based upon God's revelation

    He said, 'I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me' (27:25). God had told him something, and he believed it. His faith was based upon the Word of God. Granted, it was a special revelation. An angel of God told him what God would do. But we do not need to envy the source of Paul's revelation. We have the written, complete Word of God, which is a more sure word of prophecy than anything else could be (2 Peter 1:16-21). It is far better to have God's written Word than to have a vision, a mountain top experience, or even an angelic visitation (Heb. 1:1-3).

    2. Paul’s faith in God involved a conviction of the absolute certainty that God would do all that he said

    'It shall be even as it was told me.' He did not say, 'It may be,' or 'I hope it will be,' or 'God wants it to be.' He said, 'It shall be!' What God has spoken will be. What God has caused to be written in his Word will certainly come to pass. When the book of history is complete and God stamps 'The End' upon it, it will in all things tally with what God has said in his Word (1 Peter 1:24-25; Isa. 40:8; Luke 16:17).

    3. Paul's faith gave him hope when all hope was gone

    He said, 'I believe God,' when, to all outward appearance, 'All hope that [they]should be saved was . . . taken away' (27:20). It is one thing to believe God when everything is going in the direction of God's promise, but it is something else to believe God in a sinking ship when everything appears to contradict God's promise. That requires faith. Faith does not trust God because providence is smooth, and faith does not distrust God because providence is contrary. Faith trusts God's revelation, God's Word, even when everything appears to contradict it. Paul had nothing upon which to hang his faith but the word of God, and the same is true of us. God hung the world upon nothing but his word. Shall we not hang our faith upon that which God has hung the world?

    4. Because he believed God, Paul very plainly and boldly confessed his faith before men

    He was in a ship full of convicted felons, guarded by Roman soldiers and rugged seamen. These were not respectable, churchgoing, religious people, but rugged men of notoriously vile character. Yet Paul spoke out plainly for the glory of God and confessed his faith in him. Indeed, all who believe God confess their faith in him. They do so by believer's baptism (Rom. 6:4-6), by being his witnesses to the world around them (1:8) and in the teeth of opposition (Acts 4:10-12). We should make everyone around us conscious of our conviction that God is true and that he is to be trusted.

    5. Paul acted like a man who believed God

    When others were hysterical, Paul was calm. Why? He believed God. His faith was real. For most people religion is nothing but pious fiction. They look upon the promises of God as pretty, sentimental things to talk about. They view divine providence as a nice theological idea. Not Paul! He acted like a man who believed God. Trusting God, he rested himself upon the purpose, promise and providence of his heavenly Father.

    6. The promises of God

    This statement, 'I believe God,' applies to all matters of doctrine, all areas of a believer's life and experience, and to all that concerns our hope regarding the world to come. It is qualified and limited only by the Word of God itself (2 Cor. 1:20). Take down the Bible from its place on your shelf and search out its promises. If you fit the character of the one described in the promise, believe it and apply it to yourself:

    promises to sinners (Isa. 55:6-7; Matt. 11:28-30; Mark 16:16; John 3:14-18; 1 John 1:9);

    promises to sinning saints (1John 2: 1-2; 1Cor. 10:13; Ps. 89:19-36; 2 Chron. 7:14);

    promises to his afflicted children (Isa. 41:10-11; 43:1-5; Acts 18:10; Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 12:9; Heb. 13:5);

    promises to his church (1 Cor. 15:58; Isa. 55:11; Eccles. 11:1; Ps. 126:5-6);

    promises to his needy people (Phil. 4:19; Matt. 6:25-34); promises to them that honour him (1 Sam 2:30; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 6:33; Luke 6:38)

    promises to them that look for Christ's coming (James 1:12; 1Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Tim. 1:12).

    The triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, made certain promises to one another in the everlasting covenant of grace, which must, and will, be fulfilled (2 Sam. 23:5; Jer. 31:31-34; 32:38-40). The Son of God promised to redeem, justify and save all God's elect (Heb. 10:5-10; John 10:16). God the Father promised his Son all his elect as the reward of the travail of his soul (Isa. 53:9-12; Ps. 2:8; 22:30). God the Holy Spirit promised to regenerate, call, seal and preserve every chosen, redeemed sinner by almighty, irresistible grace (Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Thess. 2:13-14).

    God has made certain promises in his Word regarding the future. With regard to the future, every believer ought to say with Paul, 'I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.' He will yet hear and answer the prayers of his people (1 John 5:14-15). God will yet preserve every believer unto his heavenly kingdom (Phil. 1:6). God will yet send his Son to this earth in his glorious second advent to make all things new and bring his elect into everlasting glory (Rev. 21:1-5; John 14:1-3).

    Happy is that person who can speak with honesty and say, 'I believe God.' Blessed are they who believe the doctrine of his Word, the rule of his providence and the promises of his grace. For ever blessed are those sinners upon the earth who believe the record God has given concerning his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 5:10-13). Do you believe God?