JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
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When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
The Storm at Sea
13When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete. 14But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea. 15The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale.
16We sailed along the sheltered side of a small island named Cauda,* where with great difficulty we hoisted aboard the lifeboat being towed behind us. 17Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across to the sandbars of Syrtis off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind.
18The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. 19The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard. 20The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.
Have you ever woken up in the night to a big thunderstorm? The wind might have been blowing the trees like crazy, and the loud thunder probably made it hard for you to sleep. Who did you go to at that moment when you were scared? Just like you probably went to someone you love and trust for comfort and safety, Paul knew that God was his comfort and safety.
We all have storms in our lives, from literal thunderstorms to seasons that are hard and are full of circumstances that feel out of our control. Paul (and many other people in the Bible) was no different than the rest of us.
In today’s passage from Acts 27, we see him stuck in a boat on the ocean during a crazy storm for reasons far outside his control. This comes after many passages in Acts where Paul faced scary circumstances. While he warned his other ship members to not set sail due to the weather, they chose to go on anyways and put everyone on the ship in danger.
Just as a ship has an anchor that it ties down to stay stable during storms or choppy waters, Paul had his own anchor in God. His trust and faith in God enabled Paul to face scary situations and keep going when things got hard. We see throughout Acts that God has a track record of protecting his people and stepping in when life is hard.
Before you complete the activity below, talk through the discussion questions below on the passage:
Play a balance game where you each try to stand on one leg for as long as possible. At some point, you probably all lost your balance and ended up back on two legs. Now, play a second round of the balance game. This time, however, you can each hold onto a chair or table while you balance on one leg.
Before you pray, spend time talking through the discussion question below:
“Father, thank you that you are our protector, just like you were for Paul! Thank you that you can be our anchor in the midst of storms, that when everything around us feels chaotic you are stable. We pray that you will help us to see all the ways that you have shown up for us and are showing up for us in hard moments.”