Acts 27:33-38 - I urge you to take some food

27:33,34

They hadn’t been eating much (27:21), so Paul urges them to eat as a great effort would be needed in order to survive. Note that Paul is not averse to giving straightforward practical advice, he told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach problems (1 Tim 5:23). Paul also tells them that “not one of you will lose a single hair from his head”. Jesus used a similar phrase (Luke 12:27), this seems to have been a common idiom of the time.

27:35-38

Paul openly acknowledged his devotion to the Lord, and that everything he did was done with faith in God, so he gave thanks to God for the food they had. All this encouraged the people on the boat. People can be dismissive of religion and faith, but we all hit times in our lives when it becomes clear that we are not in control of our lives.Having faith in God provides a strong anchor in such times, it gives us a greater stability. Our faith can be an encouragement to others, even leading to them putting faith in Christ. They were all encouraged. Then they threw the remaining grain overboard to lighten the load further. This would allow them to get closer to the shore.