Be the One

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. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. (Acts 27:35-36)

Luke recorded that there were 276 men on the vessel that was tossed by the waves, filled with water, and cast into darkness for two weeks. The professional seamen worked tirelessly to try to save the ship and the passengers, but only one onboard pulled away from the chaos to seek God. That man was the Apostle Paul. When he gave thanks to God, took bread, and ate in front of them all, he changed the atmosphere. Suddenly, they were all of good cheer and also ate after going without food for almost two weeks.

Paul’s attitude influences everyone, and yours does too. It affects everyone in your family, your job, and your church. If the born-again, tongue-talking Word-of-Faith person is worried and frightened, others know they’re in serious trouble. If you’re down, everyone else will be down. But you should be the one who is up when everyone else is down. You should remain positive when others are negative. You should be speaking faith when they fear, love when they hate, and confidence when they cower. 

What you do and say could be the difference between life and death, just like it was for those men on the ship with Paul. He heard from God and shared the truth, which encouraged them all.

Practical Application

Become someone who moves away from confusion and chaos. Seek God and ask for His guidance. Then stand tall; be a light in the darkness and a calm presence in the storm for those whose faith is weak.

 Psalm 27:14; 2 Corinthians 1:4