Still, the captain wanted to sail a few miles up the coast to a better port. The weather had cleared and there was now a gentle breeze. 

Paul said to Julius, “Tell the captain to stay here! If he doesn’t, he’ll lose the ship and its cargo and some people may die.” The Roman officer thought about what Paul said but decided to allow the captain to move on to the other port. 

They left Fair Haven and started sailing along the coast. Suddenly a fierce wind pushed the ship out into deeper water. The crew struggled to fight the wind, but the storm grew more intense. Finally the captain stopped fighting the wind and allowed it to drive the ship along. 

After several days in the storm, the crew threw the cargo overboard. A couple of days later they threw the ship’s gear overboard. In time, everyone knew they were going to die. They hadn’t seen the sun or stars for days and they hadn’t eaten anything. 

Paul stood before the men. He said, “I told you not to leave the harbor. You didn’t listen, but now I have good news for you. An angel appeared to me last night with a message from God. He said, ‘Don’t be afraid! You’ll stand before Caesar. No one on this ship will die.’ What God says is true. 

We’ll all live, but the ship will be destroyed.” They were in the storm for a total of fourteen days. About midnight on the last day, the sailors realized they were approaching land. They quickly let down an anchor to keep from running into the rocks. 

Some of them started to let down the lifeboat so they could get off the ship. Paul shouted, “You will all die if these men leave the ship!” Immediately soldiers cut the lines and let the lifeboat fall into the water. Everyone prayed that morning would come soon. 

Paul talked to the crew just before daylight. He said, “You haven’t eaten for fourteen days. Eat something because you’ll need your strength to go to shore today.” He then picked up some bread, gave thanks to God, and started eating. Everyone on the ship ate some food. 

When it was light, they could see land through the storm. The captain spotted a bay with a beach. He decided to run the ship toward the beach as far as it would go. They pulled up the anchor and hoisted a sail. The fierce wind drove them toward the beach until the ship struck a sandbar. It jammed in the sand, and then started breaking up because of the waves. 

The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners so they wouldn’t escape. Julius stopped them because he wanted to save Paul’s life. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard and get to shore. Everyone else had to find planks from the ship and use them to float ashore. Soon everyone was in the water, and they all reached land safely. 

Continued in the next story