Pieces

In 2025, we visited Malta, specifically to see the Bay of St Paul, where Paul was swept ashore after his ship went down. We travelled for an hour to a mountain village, where the bus broke down. We waited in 40‑degree heat for the replacement, which came so late that we no longer had time to reach St Paul’s Bay. It wasn’t the day we imagined or planned!

Paul’s story carries the same shape. He thought he would sail all the way to Rome, but the ship broke apart. Acts 27–28.  Yet we know Paul still reached Rome, just not by the path he assumed. Sometimes what we think is necessary to reach our destination isn’t needed at all. God often takes us by a route we never expected to bring us His desired plan.

With rocks approaching, the sailors tried to escape in the lifeboat. Paul told them to stop and to cut the boat loose. Faith often looks like releasing the thing we were relying on and trusting God. When the ship finally shattered, the sailors reached Malta by clinging to broken planks of wood. In Scripture, wood often points us to the cross—Moses throws a tree into bitter waters, and they are healed. This time, wooden boards carry the endangered to safety. Clinging to the cross is still our strategy. It can bring us from shipwreck to shore if we hold on. Hold on and look to the One who was nailed there for you. The cross is the sure promise of His love and purpose for your life.

Friend, your life may not have unfolded the way you thought it would, but God can still bring you to His desired destination. In our shipwrecks, understanding God is optional, but trusting God is essential. Perhaps you feel like you are the broken thing? Being broken doesn’t deter Him. If you’ve failed, He can restore you. And if you are not right, you can call on the Name that is always right. The storm may rage, and the plans you thought would work may be sunk, but God’s promise stands. God fulfilled His plan for Paul, and He can do it for you.