Now What? | When Your Life is a Wreck

Today marks the final message in our series, “Now What: When Life Leaves You Stranded.”

Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard from Pastor Bill on Elijah about feeling stranded by fatigue, from Pastor Mike on Moses about feeling stranded by mistakes, and last week from our Director of Worship Arts, Angie Lopez, on Esther about feeling stranded by relationships.

Tonight I am honored to share with you once more as we explore the life of the Apostle Paul and the reality of being left stranded by life altogether.

Have you ever felt stranded by life itself?

Sometimes cancer wins.

Sometimes the promotion doesn’t come.

Sometimes the friendship isn’t reconciled.

Sometimes the professor doesn’t recommend you.

Sometimes families break apart.

Sometimes promises are broken.

Sometimes injustices prevail.

And then the question really becomes: Now what?

Am I all alone?

Am I destined for failure?

Is God really there?

Does God hear me?

Does God care about me?

Do my circumstances matter to God?

Do my circumstances matter to others?

Does God even exist?

These are valid questions about yourself and your relationship with God.

And if you are sitting here in this room and asking these questions right now, then please hear me say that this is a safe place where you can ask whatever question you need to ask and doubt whatever belief you need to doubt. You are loved here. You belong here, and we want to know you here.

In fact, if you’ve never asked these questions, then I would wonder if you’ve ever believed in God at all.

Our lives are not a Netflix series. They are not Walt Disney productions. Our lives are blood and sweat and tears and grit and pain and joy and brokenness and healing and dying and growing all wrapped into our bodies and relationships.

Our lives don’t easily resolve like pop songs, and sometimes our circumstances require us to dig deep within ourselves - deeper than ever before to discover new strength from within, and ask deeper questions of our God in order to reach the other side of our pain and the other side of our fears, even if our present-day circumstances never change.

As a teenager, I remember coming to the realization that my dad was never coming back home no matter how much I prayed… no matter how hard I worked to earn his attention… no matter how much I wanted it! He made his decision, and I had to make mine. The question I faced was: Now What?

And so do you.

Are you accepting your misery as your lot in life and self-medicating to numb the pain?

Are you ignoring the pain and pretending that it’s not really there?

Are you making others miserable so that they can feel your pain, too?

How do we make a way forward when life leaves us stranded? Is there a way forward?

Your pain is valid and so are your questions, but here at our church, we believe that your pain and your questions neither have to define you... nor determine your fate.

No other historical account from the Word of God resonates with our question “Now What?” and your truth of feeling stranded by life itself than the end of Paul’s final missionary journey to Rome before his death.

During each one of his journeys, Paul traveled all throughout Asia Minor and the Mediterranean region sharing this very simple message about Jesus over and over and again:

God fulfilled all of his promises in Jesus, demonstrating that... God is active.

Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins, meaning that… You are being made new.

Jesus resurrected from the dead and is alive, which means… You have eternal life.

And over and over and again, this message confronted the old religious establishment and the power structures of the world, which resulted in beatings against Paul, years of imprisonment, betrayal, hunger, abuse, and poverty.

Not a glamorous life for the first missionary.

Yet despite these hardships beyond what we could possibly imagine, Paul’s vision never wavered to see people know Jesus and receive eternal life.

At the end of his final missionary journey, Paul returned to Jerusalem to encourage the church there and report on his previous journeys. The old religious establishment, however, again chose their own power over the good news about Jesus’s forgiveness... and imprisoned Paul.

He would remain in chains for the rest of his life.

The religious elite demanded that Paul be executed, but since the Roman government could find no fault with Paul, the court wanted to return him to the Jewish council, which would have certainly led to Paul’s death, so instead, Paul demanded to stand trial before Caesar.

On his sailing journey to Rome, Paul noticed a change in the weather and said to the captain on board that if they continue sailing onto Italy, then they would certainly lose their cargo, probably their ship, and maybe their lives, as well.

But the owner of the boat couldn’t see the storm in front of them for all of the dollar signs glittering in his eyes, so they pushed forward.

Luke records what happened next:

'When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete. But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea.

The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale. We sailed along the sheltered side of a small island named Cauda, where with great difficulty we hoisted aboard the lifeboat being towed behind us.

Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across to the sandbars of Syrtis off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind.

The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard. The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.' Acts of the Apostles 27:13-20

This is the first time in 27 chapters of history - more than 30 years of missionary work, which included multiple beatings, near death experiences, years of imprisonment - that Luke confessed All hope was gone.

Imagine what must have been happening on that boat for Luke and Paul to finally reach a breaking point where they both felt like all hope had been lost.

Gone were the sun and the stars in the sky. Gone was the dream of sharing the Gospel with Caesar and all of Rome. Gone was any future ministry work.

Why?

Because some guys saw dollar signs in their eyes rather than a storm.

I don’t think Paul feared death, but I have to wonder if Paul thought, ‘Really? I’m so close to sharing the Good News of the true Son of God with Rome’s son of god, Caesar.

“Now what?” All of this is coming to an end because some greedy ship captain refused to make a wise decision?

Really, now what?

Have you ever been left stranded because someone else made a selfish decision that negatively impacted you?

My boyfriend cheated on me? Now what?

My landlord just jacked up my rent. Now what?

My company just laid me off. Now what?

I just received a bad diagnosis. Now what?

I am trying to live my life well and do they right thing, but I feel stranded. Now what?

Singer/songwriter/poet/dreamer Jon Foreman wrote about feeling stranded in his song “The Mountain” singing: Maybefaith is found inside a seed. Maybe faith is found inside of me. Mostly I feel like I’m lost at sea. I believe, Lord, help my unbelief. “The Mountain”

There’s a place for optimism in the church and rallying people together, but there’s also a place - and perhaps a much larger one - for people like you and me to raise our questions… and shake our fists… and shed our tears… and doubt our faith… and wonder how any of the present circumstances of our lives might possibly make any sense one day?

Am I alone?

I think this message deserves our attention tonight because as I’ve read every single page of these 66 letters - some of these pages dozens of times - I have come to realize that these letters actually offer peacefor people like you and me. These letters aren’t a collection of do’s and don’ts. They are love letters for you and for me and for the whole world to know that when all seems gone, God does his best work.

For new life only grows as we come to realize our own brokenness… and our own death.

Luke continues the account:

'No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss.

Paul told his truth to them and held them accountable. We need to know where we need to accept our responsibility.

But take courage! (Paul says) None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.

Decisions have consequences, and sometimes our circumstances don’t change. Sometimes the ship goes down, but even then, listen to how God responds...

For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve…

The True God, the only one who matters and gives life itself.

stood beside me (says Paul), and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar!

Not a ship captain’s poor decision - or Satan himself - can stop the mission of God. Your circumstances do not mean the end of you or what God desires to do in and through you.

What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’

So take courage! (Paul says again for the second time) For I believe God. It will be just as he said. But we will be shipwrecked on an island.”' Acts of the Apostles 27:21-26

This passage reveals a few key characteristics about hopelessness:

It’s all consuming.

Days feel like weeks, weeks feel like months, and years feel like forever. Hopelessness, fear, despair, discouragement, discontentment, doubts, and disappointments can each feel like they are disintegrating your soul and emotions from the inside out. These men felt so afraid that they consumed fear as their meal instead of food.

You need to find a release, but a healthy one.

In order to survive the storm, the sailors dumped everything overboard, including the boat’s equipment, to stay in the fight. The sailors rid the ship of literally everythingto stay alive. They spared nothing.

What kind of drastic measures are you taking to stay alive and healthy?

What are your release valves? Who are those people standing with you? How are you caring for your body and your well being? What healthy practices are you building into habits? What bad habits are you throwing overboard? Who are the voices in your life shaping your perspective?

Some of you tonight need to get rid of certain voices from your life altogether, while others of you need to find some new healthy voices.

As a side note: sometimes you just need a trained, experienced, and faithful voice to help guide you where you need to go. Perhaps like some of you, I grew up with a negative stigma against counseling. I thought counseling was for the weak minded.

While I was in seminary, however, one of my mentors said to me, “Ryan, you can grow so much more by talking with an experienced, well trained counselor for 45 minutes than you can on your own for 6 months.

I took the challenge. That same day I called a counselor, and I count that decision as one of the most important decisions of my life, truly, the only one greater was when I decided to marry my wife.

Tomorrow morning, some of you need to make a phone call, and if you need help, then I can recommend some life-changers for you who can do more in 45 minutes than you can on your own for 6 months.

Resist the temptation to normalize your pain. I know some who find a strange comfort in the constancy of their pain. I know friends who even intentionally run their ship aground because feeling stranded is all they know, and health scares them. There’s comfort in the wreckage.

As one of your pastors and a man who is well acquainted with pain, there’s a different life for you in Christ. Your wreckage doesn’t have to be your end. I know this because…

God is so much closer than you know.

Notice on the boat in the midst gale force winds that Luke recorded how an angel stood beside Paul - shoulder to shoulder - giving peace to Paul and reminding Paul of God’s promise that he would stand trial before Caesar and have the opportunity to share the Gospel with the most powerful man on Earth.

Man, I love that imagery. God didn’t email Paul or give him a vision or write something in the clouds.

God came down to Paul, and God stood shoulder to shoulder with him. God felt the wind… God saw the lightning… God knew the pain… God heard the cries of the other sailors, which may be why God showed compassion on them and spared the men.

Afterward, the next morning, Paul told his men to eat and take courage, for he believed God, which meant that he refused to believe the voice of fear in order to trust the only voice, the truest voice, the safest voice of them all: God’s voice.

Feeling stranded and hopeless was never part of God’s good creation. Our desire to live as the gods and goddesses of our own lives introduced sin and brokenness into our world, and since then, God has been working to redeem and restore our lives and all of creation back to rights, culminating in Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

Later after Paul arrived in Rome, he wrote a letter to the church there and said:

'Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.' Romans 5:1-5

Friends, Paul wrote this after his shipwrecked and felt like all hope was gone. These are words are written by the hands of one who experienced them! You can experience God’s truth, too, in the midst of your circumstances.

Friends, hear me please, you are not stranded because God is angry with you and punishing you. There is no such thing as karma. There is only the salvation and grace of Jesus. Yes, your decisions have consequences, and you may need to face those. But, no, God is not giving what you deserve good or bad. If anything, God has given you what you don’t deserve, and that is, a reconciled relationship with your Heavenly Father with the power of his Spirit residing within you. That’s called grace.

At this church, we believe in grace, not karma.

...Nor are you enduring these trials because God is absent from you or doesn’t care about you. It’s just the opposite, you have peace with God because of Christ’s finished work on the cross.

Listen, bring your doubts, fears, and disappointments here. They are safe here. You belong here in this church.

Yet, also hear me say, ‘take courage!’ This hope in Christ will not lead you to disappointment. God loves you, and he has given his Spirit to you - God has given you his very life to you - so that you may be filled with his love.

That’s resurrection power, my friend, which can raise you from whatever dead end hopeless circumstance that you are facing.

Eventually, the gale force winds ran Paul’s ship aground onto a small island called Malta, which - get this - literally means ‘honey sweet refuge.’

***MALTA reference.

If you feel stranded tonight, then you are developing endurance. And as you develop endurance, your character is becoming strengthened. And as your character becomes stronger, then your hope for salvation will grow more confident.

If you feel stranded tonight, then you are exactly in the best position to grow confident in your salvation.

Last Sunday, after the 12:30 experience, a friend came and told me that his beautiful, healthy daughter collapsed in the shower and needed immediate hospitalization. And as if that wasn’t horrific enough, he blew out his knee as he ran to help her.

Yet, the next morning, he came to church in excruciating pain to praise and thank God for his faithfulness to him and his family, even while feeling stranded.

That’s the witness of a man who’s been shipwrecked on Malta, endured the trials, developed strength of character, and has a confident hope of his salvation.

That’s resurrection power in that man!

If you place your trust in Jesus, then that same resurrection power can live in you, surging forth new life from within you… so tell your hopelessness to get behind you.

Tonight, let’s move forward as Paul did, as the church did, staring all of our opposition in the face, to live worthily and courageously into our future!

Heavenly Father… for courage, strength, and endurance…