DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE HAVEN OF REST

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – THE HAVEN OF REST

"When we had sailed slowly man days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.....And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority adVIsed to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there." (Acts 27:7-8, 12)

The Apostle Paul and his group were on their way to Rome being guarded by a centurion. They were traveling by ship and were at the mercy of the weather. They sailed from port to port, and finally came to the harbor of Fair Havens. That sounds like a good place to be, but apparently it was not equipped to handle winter harboring. So they decided to sail to Phoenix to spend the winter.

I can appreciate this because I am a Snow Bird who winters in the Phoenix area of Arizona.

Leaving Fair Havens was not a wise choice, because they ran smack dab into a storm called Euroclydon, a southeast wind that causes heavy waves. It was so tempestuous that the ship eventually disintegrated under the pounding of the waves.

There is a need for us humans to have a safe harbor, where there is peace and safety from the storms of life. I'm not primarily thinking about the turbulence that we all go through as a fact of life. I am thinking about peace in the soul. People try to find that place of peace with all kinds of substitutes. There is only one real harbor of peace and rest from the storms that buffet the soul, and that is in the Lord Jesus.

Remember the song: "I've anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest. I'll sail the wild seas no more. The tempest may sweep o'er the wild stormy deep, In Jesus I'm safe evermore." Jesus is my Fair Haven, my Phoenix, where I can anchor my soul and find peace with God.

Love, Dad