Kelly - Acts 27

"we" are sailing about in Acts - is the author along as a servant to Paul, or is he one of the criminals?

Part of me wonders why Paul feels the need to be a leader in this situation - especially before his vision. Why did this tentmaker/Roman citizen/Pharisee/Christian feel that he had much to say to the very experienced sailors about the likelihood of a safe journey? After he had seen the angel and spoke to them to assure their safety from the storm, his leadership makes more sense -- but until that point he seems rather meddlesome.

It's easy to make all sorts of "storm" analogies to my life from this reading - listening to God in the storm, the reality of storms, God's steadfastness through the storm, the breaking of bread in the storm....but I must admit that this doesn't read so smoothly for me. The author seems to want to paint a picture of a bad situation where God is in control and Paul is sure of that control at all times. It seems more to me like the type of random happenstance that occurs all the time. The storms just happen - God does not plan them nor is God always in control of them. God stands by my and protects me - but my boat is destroyed, my food supply is ruined, and I'm stuck an island. I hate being stuck on an island.