“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,” Ephesians 3:1

“Shipwrecked on God and stranded on omnipotence!” what a profound statement. To be shipwrecked is to have lost the ship to ruin and suddenly stranded…no conceivable way to leave the present location. To be shipwrecked on God is to be secluded or lost to all possible human sources of support and to humbly lie in the hands of Almighty God . . . stranded or nowhere else to go, but dependent on His omnipotence…miraculous power to succor and sustain us. There is no safer place to be my friends than in the center of God’s will. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 1:18.

In the book of Ephesians chapter three we find the Apostle Paul in a comparable situation. He was imprisoned for just what he was called to do for the Lord; preaching the gospel message “But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,” Acts 26:16-17.

Paul may have physically been imprisoned, but he was a prisoner of Jesus and not man. Therefore, he wrote “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,” Ephesians 3:1. His purpose regardless to where God placed him was to bring the light of Christ to the gentiles and awareness to the Jews that salvation is of the Lord… the mysterious fact that God was creating a new man through Christ Jesus. He recognized that It was God’s will that he was strategically placed in prison at the present time; therefore, he preached and wrote to encourage, admonish, instruct, and pray fervently for all men, especially the body of Christ; even though he himself was confined, his heart, mind and spirit were free!

This should be a message to every born-again believer, God has divine providence and orders our steps. When we are obedient and follow where He leads; we are exactly where He wants us to be to fulfill His purposes. Like the Apostle Paul, neither are we confined by physical and present circumstances…but we are spiritually free to spread the gospel and give Him praise and glory every single day that of our lives.

Where are you today – are you shipwrecked on God and stranded on omnipotence – in what may appear to be a perilous predicament? There is no better place to be! Praise him for the opportunity to be used as a vessel of honor. Proclaim the good news through the gifts that He has so graciously given to you; and prayerfully, one day we will all hear these words from our Lord: “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Matthew 25:23.

God blessings of grace, mercy and peace be with us all…we can depend on God!