Bit But Not Beaten
Today's Verse:
And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand… And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. ~Acts 28:3, 5
The Bible contains many faith-inspiring stories to help us in our walk with God and in the attainment of spiritual victory. This morning, we are studying an incident in which the Apostle Paul encountered difficulties that resulted in God being glorified, and a seemingly bad situation became a blessing.
We see Paul and a shipwreck.
Paul arrived on the island of Melita as a shipwreck survivor. He had spent a long, harrowing time on a ship that never made it to its intended destination. If this had been most of us, we would have thrown in the towel and quit everything. This shipwreck resulted in a loss of everything except the loss of life. This shipwreck brought a much deeper appreciation for life to everyone who survived the shipwreck. They realized that life is more important than things. Don’t let a shipwrecked moment make you lose your perspective on what really counts in life.
We see Paul and his service.
The people of Melita reached out to help the shipwreck survivors in their plight. They made a huge bonfire so that they could warm themselves. To keep the bonfire going, lots of wood were needed. Instead of standing around, Paul joined in and helped gather sticks and firewood. We see Paul serving. We must be careful to not sit around idle and waste time. We must be careful to not be a bystander and let other people do all of the work. Be like Paul, and help gather sticks for the fire. Everyone can do something for the Lord. Everyone can serve the Lord somewhere and somehow. Get involved serving the Lord.
We see Paul and a serpent.
As Paul was placing sticks in the fire, unbeknownst to him, a venomous serpent latched its fangs onto his hand. What this serpent did is a powerful reminder of how Satan attacks. Satan attacks us when we are busy serving and least suspect it. He latches his venomous fangs onto us with the hopes of poisoning us and disabling us from serving. As the serpent latched onto Paul’s hand, the islanders of Melita looked in horror and wrote Paul off as a criminal or someone bad. They just assumed that he deserved what was happening.
We see Paul and his substantiation.
What did Paul do? He shook off the serpent into the fire! What looked like a very bad situation was a turnaround that was from the Lord. These same people who had written Paul off changed their minds, and gave respect and deference to him. God took care of vindicating His servant at a critical time. Let God take care of your critics and your skeptics. Let God show Himself strong in your life even when things look bad.
We see Paul and the salvations.
Everything that happened opened the door for Paul to be introduced to an influential man named Publius and his father who was very sick. Paul was used of God to perform a great miracle of healing. This in turn gave him the opportunity to lead many people on that island to the Lord, which led to a church being established. God turned what could have been tragedies into triumph.
Whatever difficult situations we encounter, let us remember to let God keep control. Let God turn our nights into day, and our sufferings to salvations. If you’ve been bit, just shake it off!
Have a victorious God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Matthew 1-4
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