I am not a fan of snakes. Like in the entire scope of the animal kingdom, land, sea or sky… SNAKES ARE THE WORST.
Snake bites… never been close enough to be bitten by a snake but I’d envision it would be super painful. I complain when I get bit by a mosquito so a snakebite… I think I’d have a serious issue with that. And when I say, ‘issue’, it might sound something like this…
“Seriously LORD… a snake bite? Why on earth would you ever allow me to be bitten by a snake? What good could possibly come from being bitten by a snake?”
If you’re wondering if I watched some scary movie about snakes that led me to think about snakes and snake bites, not so much. I was just doing my normal my daily devotions this week and came across this story…
“As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand.”
Acts 28:3 (NLT)
If you’re interested in the greater context here, read Acts 27. In short, the Apostle Paul had just arrived in Malta after surviving a serious shipwreck that nearly killed over 200+ people. And immediately upon surviving the shipwreck in Acts 27, the Apostle Paul starts a fire to warm up after being in the freezing cold ocean all night.
That’s it… he just wants to start a fire to get warm. And then out of nowhere, a poisonous snake bites his hand! And if you’re interested to see how nasty this snake was that attacked the Apostle Paul, just Google… “Viper snakes in the Viperidae family.”
As we continue in this JOURNALING series of devotionals, after reading about what happened to the Apostle Paul in Acts 28, here’s what I wrote in my journal…
HARD THINGS BECOME HELPFUL THINGS
Hard things are, well, they are hard!
But as I continued in the story of Acts 28, I was able to see how the LORD used a venomous snake bite to serve as provision for the remainder of Paul’s journey to Rome. See this with me…
“When the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip.”
Acts 28:9 (NLT)
When the people of Malta saw the Apostle Paul get bit by a poisonous snake, they assumed that Paul was being punished for bad behavior. Think ‘Karma’ and that’s exactly what they assumed was coming back to Paul.
Well, when the Apostle Paul did not die or even get sick from the venomous snake bite, the people of Malta changed their minds about Paul and assumed him to be some sort of ‘god.’
So, how did hard things (the snakebite) become helpful? For starters, without the snakebite, the people would not have thought much of Paul… after all, he’s just another shipwreck survivor trying to keep warm.
The snakebite immediately became a platform for the people of Malta to see firsthand the POWER OF GOD. And as you read on in Acts 28, Paul uses his platform to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus.
Malta was not the Apostle Paul’s final destination, Rome was. But after losing everything to the shipwreck, how on earth would they gather the necessary resources to continue the journey to Rome?
The people of Malta were so grateful for how the Apostle Paul ministered to them that they became the source of provision. As you read above, they supplied ‘EVERYTHING’ that was needed for the journey to Rome.
Hard things are hard… no question about that!
But here’s the thing, I’m thankful that God can use hard things to be helpful. Whether it’s helpful for me personally or those around me, I’m grateful that hard things are not wasted because the LORD is able to use hard things to help accomplish His purpose in our lives and the lives of those around us.
It’s not lost on me that you might be thinking…
“But Michael, why did Paul have to be bitten by the snake? Couldn’t God have just made the people of Malta like Paul enough to give him everything he needed to get to Rome?”
Fair question—but let’s be honest: if it had happened that way, the ones who would get the ‘glory’ would be either the people of Malta or even the Apostle Paul.
“How awesome are the people of Malta for just giving this random shipwreck survivor everything he needed!” Or, “How awesome is the Apostle Paul that the people of Malta just loved him so much that they felt compelled to give to this amazing shipwreck survivor!”
In Acts 28, neither Paul nor the people of Malta get the glory; God does! God is the hero of the story because we see how the LORD helped Paul, now not only a shipwreck survivor but also a snakebite survivor. And the LORD helped the people of Malta by providing a way for them to understand the Gospel of Jesus.
If you’ve been bitten by a snake recently (metaphorically speaking), please take a moment, if you haven’t already, to sit with the LORD and pray something along these lines…
“LORD, this snakebite hurts, but please help me to see how you will use this to HELP me or those around me.”
When HURT knocks on your door, whether it be physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual, stop long enough to hear how the LORD wants to use your HURT TO HELP.
I’m not thankful for snakebites (HURT), but I am incredibly grateful that the LORD uses HURT TO HELP, whether it be me or those around me.
If it’s at all helpful to help process your ‘snakebite’ with a friend, let me know, as I’d be more than happy to sit with you and process together how the LORD might want to use your HURT to be a source of HELP.
