From the sermon preached on September 7, 2025
Trusting God in hard times is one of the most honest struggles a person can face. The good news is you’re not the first person to be there. And the story of the Apostle Paul — shipwrecked, snake-bitten, and in chains — might be the most unexpectedly encouraging thing you read today.
The big idea from Acts 27 and 28 is this: no storm, no snake, and no empire can stop what God has purposed for your life. The last word in the entire book of Acts is unhindered. That’s not an accident — and it’s not just history. It’s a word for you.
What Does It Mean That God's Purpose Is Stronger Than the Storm?
The Apostle Paul had been arrested, transferred between governors, and was now being transported by ship from Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey) all the way to Rome to stand trial before Emperor Nero. He wasn’t a free man. He was a prisoner in chains — and yet God had told him directly: You must stand before Caesar.
Then the storm hit. A massive hurricane called the Euroclydon battered the ship for fourteen straight days. The crew threw cargo overboard. They lost sight of the sun and stars. Acts 27:20 says plainly that “all hope of being saved was at last abandoned.” Even experienced sailors gave up.
Paul didn’t. Not because he was superhuman, but because he had a word from God — and he chose to hold onto it when everything visible told him otherwise. He stood up in the middle of that storm and told the 276 people on board, “Take heart. God told me not one of you will be lost.” And he was right. The ship broke apart, but every single person made it to shore on planks and pieces of wood.
Here’s what that moment teaches us: God’s purpose in your life is not cancelled by the storms in your life. It might be delayed. The vessel you were counting on might break completely. But the mission — the word God spoke over you — remains. The wreck isn’t the end. Sometimes God uses broken pieces to bring you safely to the other side.
The practice that actually helps in these moments is learning to steward what God has spoken. Write it down. Return to it. When the waves get loud, you need something to read that is louder. Don’t let what you see make you forget what God has said.
Take one step toward understanding your purpose and what God might be doing in your story — take the next step here.
Why Does God Allow Hard Things to Come After the Storm?
Paul and the other survivors made it to the island of Malta, cold and soaked. The locals were kind — they built a fire. As Paul gathered sticks to help keep it going (still a prisoner, still in chains, still serving), a viper shot out of the heat and latched onto his hand.
The people watching had an immediate verdict: He must be a murderer. The sea didn’t get him, but justice will. It’s a deeply human reaction — to look at someone in suffering and assume they had it coming. Maybe you’ve heard something like that. Maybe the voice saying it is your own.
What happened next is worth sitting with. Paul didn’t panic. He shook the snake off into the fire, and nothing happened to him. No swelling. No sudden death. The same crowd that said justice has come for you now said he must be a god.
And the island’s chief official, a man named Publius, brought his sick father to Paul — and Paul prayed for him and he was healed. Then the entire island came. Everyone who was sick that day was healed.
What the enemy sent to destroy became a platform for revival. God’s presence consumed the poison. The serpent says death and condemnation — but Jesus says life. The bite may land. The attack may come. But the poison cannot last, because 1 John 4:4 is still true: Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
Your past does not disqualify your purpose. Paul had blood on his hands before he met Jesus. And the same hands that were bitten by a viper became the hands that brought healing to an island.
ou do not have to figure this out alone — connect here with a small group of people walking through the same questions.
How Can God's Power Overcome the Principalities Working Against You?
Paul eventually made it to Rome. After the storm. After the shipwreck. After the snake bite. He arrived at the center of the most powerful empire in the world and stood before Emperor Nero — a man so ruthless that history records him burning his own city down and blaming the Christians for it. This was not a friendly courtroom.
And yet Paul kept preaching. Under house arrest, in chains, in the shadow of an emperor who would later have him executed — Paul welcomed everyone who came to him and proclaimed the kingdom of God “with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31). The gospel moved forward anyway.
What Paul faced wasn’t just a political problem. The Apostle himself wrote about principalities — spiritual powers and territorial forces that work against God’s people (Ephesians 6, Colossians 1:16, Romans 8:38). Rome was a principality. And the gospel walked right into its center and refused to stop.
The same is true today. The systems, patterns, and forces that feel like they have the final word in your life — they don’t. God’s power is greater than any principality. And you don’t have to be facing an emperor to feel the weight of something that seems like it wants to shut you down. The word that closes the book of Acts closes it for a reason: unhindered.
What Are the Signs That God Is Still at Work When Everything Feels Broken?
|
What It Looks Like |
What God Is Doing |
| The ship breaking apart | Removing what you trusted instead of him |
| Surviving on planks | Getting you to the other side his way |
| A snake attack on dry land | Setting up a platform for his power |
| Being under house arrest | Still reaching people through you |
| Standing before the enemy | Advancing the gospel into new territory |
How to Apply This to Your Life This Week
- Write down what God has spoken. Pull out an old journal, a prayer someone prayed over you, a verse that won’t leave you alone. God’s word is your anchor — but you have to return to it. Read it again today.
- Name your storm, then name your God. The hurricane in Acts had a name: the Euroclydon. Name yours honestly. Then remind yourself who is greater than it. This isn’t denial — it’s anchoring.
- Look for the plank. In the wreck, not one person was lost — they floated to shore on broken pieces. Ask God today: what broken thing in my situation is he using to carry me forward?
- Show up and serve anyway. Paul was in chains, gathering sticks for a fire. He didn’t wait to be free before he contributed. Start where you are, with what you have.
Your Story Isn't Over — It's Just Getting to Rome
The book of Acts started in a small upper room in Jerusalem and ended in the center of the Roman Empire. What began in one room reached the whole world. And here’s what that means for you: God finishes what he starts.
You might be in the storm. You might be on the island, still catching your breath. You might be somewhere between the wreck and Rome, unsure of what’s next. Trusting God in hard times doesn’t mean pretending the waves aren’t real. It means choosing what you anchor to when they are.
The last word of Acts is unhindered — and that word belongs to you too. Not because your circumstances are easy, but because the God who sent Paul to Rome is the same God walking with you today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "unhindered" mean in Acts 28?
The word “unhindered” — or “without hindrance” — is the very last word in the book of Acts. It describes how the Apostle Paul continued preaching the gospel even while under house arrest in Rome. It’s a declaration that no storm, imprisonment, or opposition could stop the message of Jesus from moving forward.
Can God still use me after I've made major mistakes?
Yes — and the story of Paul in Acts 28 is one of the most powerful examples of this in Scripture. Paul had a violent past before his conversion. And yet the same man who once persecuted Christians became the one through whom God healed an entire island. Your past does not disqualify your purpose.
Why does God allow storms in my life?
The storm in Acts 27 didn’t cancel God’s plan for Paul — it was part of the journey to Rome. God sometimes allows difficult seasons to redirect us, strip away false security, and deepen our trust in him rather than in the things that carry us. The storm is not the end; it is often the path.
How do I trust God when everything in my life is falling apart?
Start with what God has already spoken over your life — through Scripture, through prayer, through the people around you. Write it down. Return to it when the waves are loud. Trusting God in hard times isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about anchoring your soul to a word that is bigger than your circumstances.
What is the significance of the snake bite in Acts 28?
After surviving a shipwreck, Paul was bitten by a viper on the island of Malta. The locals assumed it was divine judgment. But Paul shook off the snake, suffered no harm, and went on to pray for the sick on the island — and everyone was healed. The moment intended as an attack became a platform for revival, illustrating that God’s presence consumes what the enemy sends to destroy.
