God's Plan Overcomes - Tim Knipp (Acts 27)

Conflicts and obstacles
block the way -
seeming impassable.

A sea journey
in the company of soldiers
and hardened 
criminals
leapfrogs along the coast,
facing fierce winds
and glowering skies.
A hurricane buffets the boat
away from the shores of Crete
and tosses it south
and west.
Creaking lumber strains
and pops
as the vessel heads toward
infamous sand bars.
Waterlogged grain is ditched
in despair,
masts dismantled;
the ship founders,
adrift
and blinded,
tossed like kindling
among gigantic troughs
of waves.
Hope drowns slowly
as day
follows day.

Into their despair,
Paul speaks
a message from God
promising salvation.

Starving and wearied
beyond belief,
in the black of night
they near land.
Calming soldiers, 
criminals and crew alike,
Paul urges food,
prays
and eats.

All take courage and feed.

Later the ship
strikes sand
and all
make it to land,
just as Paul's God
had promised.

In the face of dire
circumstances
and seeming
impossibilities,
God's plan
cannot
be
thwarted.