Today I want to encourage you all to go to your Bibles and read the entirety of Acts 27.  It is the story of Paul’s journey to Rome.  It is quite the Adventureland, it is ultimately what leads to Paul bringing the gospel to Rome and his ultimate martyrdom.  The thing that strikes me today about the story is that with 276 soldiers on board a ship, many of them commanding officers, the Centurion and all of the soldiers look to Paul for guidance.  I’ve included a small sampling here but again I encourage you to read the entirety of Acts 27 today.  

On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away. 33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea. 39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.

The thing is when someone is truly seeking God and his guidance their wisdom, which is God’s wisdom, comes through.  Everyone is looking to Paul in the midst of the storm and shipwreck because Paul is looking to God.  The first step of Godly leadership is not working on your leadership skills or honing your motivational abilities.  The first step in Godly leadership is to seek God.  The more we are in tune with Him the more people will look to us to lead and guide them.  In 1 Corinthians Paul even verbalizes this concept when he says, “follow me as I follow Christ”.  That is the essence of Godly leadership when someone follows Jesus so well that others learn more about Jesus by simply watching them.  I pray that we might all share the love of Christ each day simply by the way we live (and with our words too).  

In His Grip,

Pastor Dave