Shake It Off

Acts 28:3 LEB

And when Paul had gathered a large number of sticks and was placing them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

Pauls story-there’s always something

In Acts, Paul was being sent to Rome for a trial before Cesar. It was a long trip via the Mediterranean Sea. On the way, the ship Paul was on went through a severe storm for weeks. It was a fearful storm the people said we are going to die. The seasickness was probably at a all-time high as the ship was battered for two weeks by the wind and waves. Everything was lost in the storm, from all the cargo, to the ship itself. But by God‘s great mercy, not one person aboard lost hits life.

As soon as they hit land, the island of Malta, they begin to gather sticks to warn themselves with a fire. It was at the fire that Paul was bitten by a Viper, hiding in the sticks. Can you believe it? He had just endured the worst storm of his life, had beaten certain death by Gods grace, and then this happens.

Upon seeing this snakebite occur, the natives on Malta summarize, undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.

But Paul didn’t freak out. He just shook it off into the fire. The natives waited for him to die. But he didn’t die. In fact, he didn’t even get sick or have a tinge of swelling. Upon seeing this unexpected outcome, the natives opinion of Paul took a drastic change. No longer did they consider him a murderer, they now considered him a God!