Shipwrecked and Snake-bitten

Sometimes things in life happen that we just can’t explain. We find ourselves in a position of helplessness. We’re facing drama that we didn’t create. Life is out of control, and our feet aren’t even on the ground to where we can do anything about stabilizing the situation. The last couple chapters of Acts record that the Apostle Paul was being delivered as a prisoner to Rome by ship. Paul was fine with the free trip to go present the Gospel to new people. So he was able to look past the chains as his free ticket to ride. However, his transportation executives were gambling that they could beat the Hurricane season. Paul expressed his warning (but he was just a prisoner) claiming that God let him know this was not a safe time to travel (before TWC days). After a harrowing experience on the seas of a couple of weeks in hurricane winds, the ship finally crashed on an island. —- The ship was loaded with a crew, soldiers, and prisoners. All lives were spared by the grace of God. The official in charge of the prisoners commanded that none of them be killed prior to evacuating the ship, because he wanted to make sure Paul survived. So in a way, God saved all the prisoners just to make sure one was saved. Not only were men spared from the sword, but also from the ravenous waters. Swimmers and non-swimmers alike managed to safely make shore through the extreme surf. It was an All God Thing! —- The people of the island showed great hospitality and welcomed the stranded crash victims. While collecting firewood, Paul was seen by the natives with a poisonous snake latched onto his hand. Paul just shook the snake into the fire, and the natives waited to see him swell up and die. They figured he must have been a murderer to have escaped death by shipwreck only to have the “gods” deal with him individually with a snake bite. —- Much to their surprise Paul survived. He didn’t even swell up. This turned the tide of opinion. He must be a god, they thought. —-This miracle grew great attention, and God then used Paul to heal many people on the island. A potentially tragic story couldn’t have ended so well. We can only assume that for the three months Paul and company were on this island, he shared the Gospel with his captive audience. And when it came time to depart the island, the islanders gave their visitors everything they needed as far as supplies to finish their journey. —- The question formulates, “why this island?” Can God cause a shipwreck of inconvenience for His people to rescue another group of people? Would the Gospel been brought to this island any other way? Paul had Rome in mind, but God had Malta in mind. —- Sometimes we are on our way to do what we think is the “big thing” that God wants us to do, and He has little detours along the way. I think that even though it is not mentioned, Paul probably had to get the guts up to go to Rome. He probably had a good idea that he would end up dying for the Gospel there. Now, that he was finally headed there, a place like Malta wouldn’t be on his map. But it was on God’s map!—- We have no idea what God has planned for today, just go with it. Be who you are in Christ where you are…even if it’s on a side-street leading to the “big thing He has called you to.” Whether shipwrecked or snake-bitten, you’re a survivor. What would God have you do in the storm and after the storm?(Acts 27&28)