“But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.” – Acts 28:5
You can be walking in the very direction God has called you, and still feel the sting of life’s fangs.
Being bitten does not always mean God has left you. Sometimes it is the very proof that He is near.
When Paul was struck by the snake, the crowd rushed to judge him.
They whispered, “He must be guilty. There must be some hidden sin.
Surely he won’t survive this.”
They spoke curses, they spread gossip, they predicted only death.
They waited for him to fall. They watched for him to collapse. Yet after a long time,
when nothing happened, their story changed. The same mouths that called him cursed,
called him chosen. The same people who named him a criminal, named him a god.
But Paul never lived by their labels. Murderer or a god. He was neither. He knew who he was,
not in himself, but in Christ. The opinions of people are as restless as the wind, shifting
one moment to another, yet the Word of God remains steady and sure.
The world is watching you too. They are watching how you handle the snake bites of life.
Some already have your outcome predicted, and it is not good. They may talk, but
let them talk. Shake it off. Keep them waiting. Trust God.
And watch Him get the last word... every time.
And when the crowd tries to crown you with glory that belongs to Him alone, remember..
though we are made in His image, we are not Him. Bow low, lift your eyes, and point them
back to the One true God. For when He is revealed, even an entire village can find its healing.