FEAR NOT; Be of Good Cheer!

 093025 -Meditational Nuggets from the Book of Acts 27 KJV

Mithcah Bible Baptist Church-Bahrain

Morning Online Group Devotional Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship - October 1, 2025 

“21 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.

22 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.

23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.”

Fear Not; Be of Good Cheer.

Acts 27:1-11 KJV -

“1 And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. 

2 And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.

3 And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself.

4 And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.

5 And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.

6 And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein.

7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone;

8 And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.

9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,

10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.”

Sailing to Italy, imprisoned Paul, has to be presented to Augustus Caesar. He and the other prisoners were under the watch of Julius the centurion of Augustus band, or in current term: they were escorted by an army troop of 100 soldiers under one company or one corp commander. 

Though imprisoned he was given favorable  leniency by the Centurion Julius; for he was allowed to refresh himself with his friends whom among are mentioned Aristarchus from Macedonia and the writer Dr. Luke.

However, along their journey, Paul instinctively informed the concerns,  that the sail from Crete will be dangerous. That because they consumed their time from slow sailing; and the time when the strong winds, like hurricane suddenly appear any moment, there was a higher possibility that it will be disastrous for them to continue sailing. 

But the owner of the ship and it’s captain decision to proceed prevailed and the centurion Julius believed them. 

The author suggested to us reader this fact: 

⁃ The called servant of GOD has discernment. 

⁃ He comprehends the danger that has to come. 

But no matter what situation he is into, he will always find comfort in his life’s journey; from his friends,  even from the arms of the law. 

This gives us encouragement: FEAR NOT; Be of Good Cheer!  And that, even in great trials and strong winds of difficulties, we must be still and rise up above sorrow; for surely, The LORD will get us  through. 

Acts 27:12-27 KJV 

“12 And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west.

13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.

14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. 

D15 And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. 16 And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat:

17 Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.

18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

19 And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.

20 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.

21 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.

22 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.

23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.

27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;”

Then came the Euroclydon.

According to Wikipedia, the meaning of Euroclydon (or in Latin: Euroaquilo) is a cyclonic tempestuous northeast wind which blows in the Mediterranean, mostly in autumn and winter. In one word, it is a hurricane. 

The catastrophic sail of the imprisoned Apostle Paul to Rome have been a great waste indeed; of which he advised the sailors not to proceed and wait until the weather be fair. But the chief captain did not hearken unto him and proceed still. 

Things we must be reminded from these passages: 

• sometimes an unsolicited advise is the voice of the LORD that stops us from proceeding to a cataclysmic journey of life. 

• Skillfulness, nor professionalism is not always a guarantee for a safe voyage; hearkening from godly counsel is. 

• Spirit-filled people are GOD’s voice that sounds His instruction. It should be considerably listened to and has to be taken seriously. 

• Sobriety snd soundness of mind comes only from GOD’s blessed assurance; and it is freely given to all who abide by the instructive words of the LORD. 

• Shipwreck in life are sometimes allowed by the LORD; for hopeless people to realize they need a Savior. 

Though Paul blamed them because they did not listened to his counsel, he encourage them by the word of the LORD: FEAR NOT; Be of GOD CHEER.. for in believing GOD’s words, no life will be lost,

The safest place we must be is in the sheltering hand of the Living and Loving GOD, who hears, who listen and who sees. Abide with Him and be safe along life’s journey. 

Acts 27:28-44 KJV 

28 And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.

29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

30 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.

33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.

35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. 

37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.

38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.

39 And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship.

40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.

41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.

42 And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.

43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land:

44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.

Two hundred sixty six living souls: these many people were saved from the shipwreck because of the anointing hand of GOD to Apostle Paul. 

Just one firmly-settled-in faith leader of few godly men, in the midst of many troubled people,  is more than enough to bring them into salvation. 

Noticeably, in their troubled days, they hearkened to the counsel of Paul. 

• they abide in the ship, though it was tossed to and fro by strong wave; none give in to their attempt to scape.

• They ate their meal after fourteen days of continued fasting. 

• They accepted their fate inside the ship and let alone the strong wind; even the soldier became gentle to the prisoners; wishing each other’s safety: all because of Paul’s contagious faith in GOD. 

• They all attained safety to dry land, though everything was lost; and their ship was wrecked and stuck still to the ground of the shallow. 

It is our steadfast stands in the faith to GOD that moves others’ hearts. It is not the quantity that counts, but the quality of our faithful walk. 

It consist of the contentment for what we have, the gratitude of opening our eyes every morning and the peace within the midst of every life’s tempestuous winds. These all come along and were freely given to us by our Loving LORD JESUS CHRIST: our Savior and Redeemer. 

Without Him all anxieties, fears and negativities will drag us down deeper; and yes with our strength we may be able to afloat ourselves for a little time. 

But when it’s getting tougher and harder, we will soon be carried away by destructive life’s destructive wind. We must learn to humbly accept the fact: without the LORD’s guidance, we can’t do anything that will keep us up with Him. 

FEAR NOT and Be of GOOD CHEERS! For we are the children of our Loving and Living GOD who knows and understands our weaknesses and fears. 

Let this sink in our mind: 

GOD is still GOD even without mankind, but mankind without GOD what will become of us then? 

Having faith in the true GOD who sees, hears, listens and answers prayers is the most important thing we must have within.  

That with Him our days will be more meaningful and our life will be challenging and livelier than ever. 

Good morning😇🙏