“Fear Not… Be of Good Cheer. For I Believe God!” Acts 27:24,25

Many years ago, when we first began working in Haiti, I was taking a Mobile Clinic team to La Gonave Island, Haiti. The boats going over to the island at that time, were “old dilapidated” fishing boats with holes in them. I really hated that two-hour trip over rough waters, while the Haitian men were “bailing water out of the boat,” with a plastic bucket!

After arriving, we had to take a young girl and her mother, via a small boat, to the other side of the island. She had a high fever, “malaria.” When we got there and checked her in, a storm came up, suddenly. The large boat that had taken us was gone. We found a very small boat and a Haitian that said, “he was a good driver!”

There were only about five of us in the boat and one of them was a guy on our team named “Carl.” As the Haitian sailed the boat, the sky grew black, with thunder and lightning, and the small boat nearly turned us over. But, Carl had faith! “Be of good cheer,” he encouraged us! We began to sing and praise God, and somehow, by God’s grace, we made it.

In Acts 27, Apostle Paul tells about a “storm” he and some prisoners encountered, a storm called a “Euroclydon.” Even all the experienced sailors were afraid and thought they would die. But Paul said, “Be of good cheer: for I believe God!” It’s easy to sing and praise God when things are going good, but in a “real storm,” that’s when our faith is tested. We see the “storm,” but God sees the rainbow!

Today, no matter what storm you are facing, and I know that someone is facing a “very large storm,” God is saying to you this morning, “FEAR NOT! BE OF GOOD CHEER! YOU WILL PASS THROUGH THIS STORM!” Yes, you will!

Sherry