“And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land:And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.” Acts 27:42-44 KJV

I am currently living life with several broken pieces. And I say that not from a place of sadness, but from a place of honesty and transparency. I am living with broken pieces. And if the truth is told, some of you are also living with broken pieces. You, or a loved one, is facing health issues, or maybe your marriage is going through turbulent times. Your broken piece may be financial hardships, or even the pain of past regrets, trauma, and abuse. You are living with broken pieces.

Paul, a prisoner at the time of this particular passage, was on his way to stand trial in Rome. There were almost three hundred people aboard the ship with Paul, which included prisoners and soldiers. Against Paul’s advice to not continue the trip, one of the ship’s captains decided to continue to sail anyway. Subsequently a storm ensued, and everyone was now facing the possibility of dying at sea. They had been stranded for several days, had thrown food and other necessities off of the ship in order to lighten it, and there was no hope in sight. And in the midst of this dire situation, Paul was visited by an angel in a vision. The angel informed Paul that no one on the ship would die, but that the ship would be destroyed. The next day, Paul told everyone of his vision, and encouraged them to cheer up. They would live in spite of the broken pieces. Paul’s vision came to pass, and the ship was ultimately destroyed. But the destruction of the boat, the broken pieces, is what helped the soldiers and the prisoners who could not swim, live.

I don’t know the type of storm that is raging in your life right now. But I do know that God is able to use the storm, and its destructive nature, to help you live. You can live with the broken pieces from the storm. So instead of focusing on the strength of the storm, and despising the subsequent broken pieces that you are left with, use the broken pieces to live.

Listen to “Wellness in Faith with Sherry Wherry” at 7pm EST during the month of August to hear an in depth discussion of #LivingWithBrokenPieces during the “Hashtag Moment.” To listen live, or to catch the replays, log on to blogtalkradio.com/rswellness.