Told You So

“Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.”  Acts 27:2


“Told you so.”  Nobody wants to hear it, but everybody likes to say it.  Even the Apostle Paul.

Many days into a raging storm that threatened to tear their ship apart, Paul stood up and said to the sailors, “I told you so!”  Actually he said, “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss”(Acts 27:22). Same thing—just different words that both mean “I was right, and you were wrong.” 

Surely the sailors wanted to stop up their ears and shut Paul’s mouth.  For almost two weeks the howling wind and heaving waves of a hurricane force storm called a “northeaster”(Acts 27:14) had driven their ship through the angry sea.  Battered and beaten, the cargo had been tossed and the tackle thrown overboard to lighten the load, but “when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved”(Acts 27:20).

Just about then Paul stood up and gave his speech.  “I told you so,” he said, but thankfully he didn’t stop there.  He continued on and urged the men to keep up their courage because “not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed”(Acts 27:22).  He told them how the night before God’s angel had shown up and said, “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you”(Acts 27:24). By that point, Paul’s “know better” had become “God knows best,” and instead of irritating, his words were inspiring.

His example is instructive.  Unless you can follow your “I told you so” with something good that God has said, just keep your mouth shut.

Especially in the storms.