Shake It Off

Acts 28:5

“However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.”

I remember being super afraid of wasps.  As a kid, I was stung by one of them while swinging on my backyard swing set.  After that, I noticed the distinctive buzz of their wings from a long way off.  I would go out of my way to avoid them and run away even when they were not even chasing me.  I was terrified.  

Paul and the castaways were shipwrecked on the island of Malta.  Their ship was torn to pieces and God kept them all from harm.  The local people of the island showed them kindness and cared for them.  Paul, because of the rain and cold, was gathering sticks to make a fire when a viper came out and bit Paul on the hand.  When the natives saw this they said that Paul was surely set to die because of this.  The Bible tells us then that Paul just shook off the snake and threw it into the fire.  They all watched in amazement as Paul just went about his business.  They were just waiting for him to swell up and fall over dead, but he did not.  Seeing this amazing thing, the leaders of the people of the island brought Paul to their king who was sick and bedridden.  He healed him and as well as all on the island that were sick.  

I don’t think we would handle this situation like Paul did.  We would freak out and come up with some remedy to suck the viper venom out.  But Paul just shook the viper off into the fire.  It was almost like Paul was so confident in where he was headed, to Rome, that nothing Satan threw at him was going to stop him.  Satan plans his schemes all the time.  He uses everything he can and everyone he can, even your own family.  Just like the fact that I was terrified of wasps as a kid, some of us live in fear of what Satan will throw at us today.  This is not the way Jesus intended his followers to live.  In Matthew 6:10 Jesus tells us, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  We are not called to live in fear.  2 Timothy 1:7 says, ” For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”  If you are walking in fear, that is not the place the Lord wants you to be.  You have to shake it off and, move on.  God has much larger plans for you and He wants you to walk by faith and not by sight.  That viper was clearly a dangerous thing but God was bigger and Paul knew that. You never know what will go down when you walk by faith and put the fear of what Satan can throw at you aside. He lost and we win!  End of story!  Start acting like you are a victor, not a victim. Shake it off today!