Fog of War - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- Oct 6, 2024
- 9 min read
Fog of War
Acts 22:20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
Intro: The Bible tells us that for a number of days, they saw neither the sun nor stars.
Their ship was completely surrounded by fog.
There is a term that is used to describe this when in a battle.
It’s called the Fog of War.
Paul was literally surrounded by the Fog of War.
The phrase is typically used to describe the time in battle where people lose tract of reality.
The first known attempt to explicitly define the "fog of war" in a military text was made in 1896 in a book titled The Fog of War by Sir Lonsdale Augustus Hale, where it is described as "the state of ignorance in which commanders frequently find themselves as regards the real strength and position, not only of their foes, but also of their friends."
But thousands of years ago, the Prophet Isaiah said it like this:
· Isaiah 9:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise,
The fog of war is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations.
The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, and adversary intent during an engagement, operation, or campaign.
Disorientation becomes common.
Communication breakdowns occur often.
Losing track of your location and your bearings is normal during the “fog of war.”
Make no mistake; Paul was fighting multiple battles in this chapter.
I count at least 6 battles that he was fighting, all at the same time.
It was one of the most memorable of Paul’s experiences.
He referred to these later in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27
Paul reminded Timothy that being in the ministry was the call to be a soldier.
· 2 Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
· 2 Timothy 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Let us examine the nature of the battles that Paul fought just in this one story.
I. The Battle of being Imprisoned – vs. 1 “…they delivered Paul, and certain other prisoners…”
Many of the men of God in the scriptures knew what it was like to be imprisoned.
Joseph was in prison, and was in the perfect will of God.
Jeremiah was imprisoned.
· Jeremiah 33:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
Peter was imprisoned.
Paul was imprisoned many times.
Being bound was mentioned by Paul often.
· Acts 26:29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.
· 2 Timothy 2:9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds;
When you are fighting the battle of being imprisoned, it is very personal.
You are not in control of your circumstances; your circumstances are in control of you.
It’s not like you can just wake up and it all be over; it isn’t.
You go to bed imprisoned, and you wake up imprisoned.
You are bound by your duty, your calling, your heart for people.
You are bound by your God-given commission.
You are where you are because you live and fight by a different set of rules.
You are suffering because you won’t walk away from the call of God.
II. The Battle of being Ignored – vs. 9-11; 21
· 9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,
· 10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.
· 11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
There’s nothing more painful for a man of God than to know something and nobody listens.
There’s nothing more frustrating than being a parent and your children will not heed your advice.
God gave him the perception to see further down the road, and nobody thought he knew what he was talking about.
One of the greatest hurts and source of emotional and spiritual pain is unheeded advice and disregarded counsel.
· Imagine trying to flag down a car full of people headed toward a cliff.
· Imagine trying to extract a person from a burning building.
· Imagine attempting to pull a person from the edge of a precipice, only for them to pull away and plunge to their death.
Those in the ministry deal with this constantly.
The guilt of wondering if we did enough.
The struggle of trying to understand why they didn’t listen.
The confusion of how such plain, biblical, common-sense intervention could be so quickly ignored.
There is a phrase in verse 12 that has haunted many a pastor, and a parent.
“THE MORE PART ADVISED…”
There’s that “other part” that always comes into play.
And there’s always more of them.
COMMODIOUS: not convenient
Paul was admonishing in verse 9 according to Holy Ghost perception.
That “more part” was advising according to their feelings and convenience. (commodious)
III. The Battle of being Involved – vs. 15
Paul was not given the option to take another ship.
Paul was bound on the ship that was headed for much hurt and damage, and he couldn’t get off of it.
In verse 10, Luke referred to the storm, it was in the first person. (Luke wrote Acts.)
This was going to affect “our lives.”
Not just theirs; but his.
He didn’t get to sit on the beach and watch it happen; he was on the ship with these people that didn’t listen.
He didn’t read about it on Facebook; this happened to him.
They ignored his admonishment, and he had to pay the price right along with them.
They insisted on riding right into a hurricane, and he had to ride with them.
The tendency to get bitter and angry at those that drag you into their Euroclydon is very real.
IV. The Battle of being Infirmed – vs. 21; 33-36
After a long abstinence.
He was tired, he was hungry, he was weak, he was vulnerable.
Paul referred to this in 2 Corinthians 11:27.
· 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Acts 28:2 tells us that it was cold.
Paul asked for the parchments and the books, but he also asked for his cloak in 2 Timtohy 4:13.
The toll that it takes on the body when you’re going through a battle is not to be minimized.
What it does to your heart and mind is bad enough.
But the impact it has on your health makes it even worse.
Many of God’s choice servants struggle with health issues; much of it brought on by the stress of the ministry.
V. The Battle of being Incognizant – vs. 20 no direction; open sea with no way to go
One of the most frustrating and difficult days in the ministry is when you have no idea where to go.
No word from the Lord; no clear direction is apparent in your prayer closet.
You have no idea whether to hit the brakes, stomp the gas or put it in reverse.
You not only do not know where you are going, but you don’t know where you are.
You thought you did, but after a few days of fog, you’re not sure.
You’re not sure who’s with you.
You don’t know just where you stand.
You don’t know if the church has really progressed as far as you once thought.
You don’t know if the people in the church are growing or shrinking.
You don’t know if your messages are falling on good soil.
You don’t know if your praying and studying is even paying off.
You don’t know what everybody is doing; you don’t even know what you’re doing.
You lose track of time. Your life becomes a blur.
It’s called Fog of War.
VI. The Battle of being Imperiled – vs. 20b all hope was taken away
The final straw was the many days of fog, accompanied by “no small tempest.” Vs. 20.
TEMPEST: stormy or rainy weather, the winter season
LAY ON US: to lie upon or over, rest upon, be laid or placed upon; of the pressure of a violent tempest; to press upon, to be urgent
The non-stop pressure of the stormy, winter season took a toll.
The result was simple – all hope that they should be saved was taken away.
This is worded in a very specific way.
They could not save themselves.
Their only hope was that they “should be saved”, meaning by something or someone else.
Their hope in rescue was stripped away from them.
Conclusion: Paul didn’t fall prey to the Fog of War. You don’t have to either!
In spite of the statistical norms, Paul wasn’t overwhelmed by it; Paul overcame it.
A. Paul’s Comfort – vs. 15
Don’t fight the storm.
A storm is a supernatural event.
1. Paul took comfort in the Providence of God.
There is nothing you or I can do to stop a storm once it starts.
It might start out as a soft breeze at first (vs. 13)
But once it turns into a tempestuous wind, it is beyond our control.
The only thing you can do is let it run its course.
There’s not a place on the planet you can go where there are not storms at some time or another.
He did all he could do, and then didn’t let what he couldn’t do throw him out of God’s will.
If he had not been a servant of God, he wouldn’t have been on that ship going through that storm.
2. Paul took comfort in the Presence of God.
Paul never forgot that he belonged to God, and that God was standing beside him. (vs. 23)
He never repented of serving God. He did not regret what God had called him to do.
He was there in spite of his previous warnings. (vs. 9, 10)
3. Paul took comfort in the Promises of God.
vs. 25 – for I believe God
Paul never lost sight of the fact that God wasn’t through with him – vs. 24
Paul knew that God had a plan – a purpose.
Paul made it through the fog because he chose to believe God.
He could have blamed God and turned his back on God, but he didn’t.
Sometimes, the key to making it through the fog is to repeat to yourself and to others – I BELIEVE GOD!
B. Paul’s Competence – vs. 30-32
When others were about to make life-threatening decisions, Paul could still think clearly.
Paul caught some of the shipmen about to flee out of the ship. – vs. 30
Paul’s words were plain – Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
The ship, as fearful as it may have seemed, was the safest place in the world at that time.
Don’t give into the urge to cut and run during a storm.
Stay with the ship!
So many people make boneheaded decision during the Fog of War.
· They get out of church.
· They walk away from God.
· They stop praying.
· They stop reading their Bible.
· They nurse grudges and get bitter.
Paul didn’t!
C. Paul’s Compassion – vs. 33-36
You know you’ve succumbed to the Fog of War when you can no longer think of others.
Paul wasn’t praying for their destruction; he was trying to stop it.
These were the ones that held him prisoner.
He held no ill will toward them.
They were the ones that ignored his advice.
He was completely consumed with keeping them all safe.
Nothing pleased him more than to tell them that not a hair on their head would be harmed. (vs. 34)
Paul wasn’t concerned about himself.
· His struggles were real.
· His pain was real.
· His frustration was real.
But there were 275 other people on that ship.
· They were also struggling.
· They were also going through the storms.
· They were also cold and hungry and afraid.
What a great place for a minister to be in!
What a great time to be in the ministry!
Conclusion: This point is amazing to me!
The soldier’s counsel was to kill all the prisoners. (vs. 42)
That included Paul.
But Paul’s confidence and his consideration of others probably saved his life.
In verse 43, the same centurion that ignored Paul’s admonition in verse 11 is now on his side.
· Acts 27:43 “But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose…”
He was willing to save Paul. But that was only after Paul was willing to save him.
The same people that are ignoring you today might come around, if you don’t succumb to the Fog of War.
The same people that brought all this hurt and damage to your life might one day save your life; if you don’t give into the Fog of War.
