"Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, 'This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.' But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god." Acts 28:1-6 (NIV)
On his way to Rome to be tried by Caesar for the crimes that the Jewish religious leaders said that he had committed, the Apostle Paul was ship wrecked and landed on the island of Malta. There he was bitten by a poisonous snake and nothing happened to him.
When trouble strikes we should be like the Apostle Paul, don't panic, don't rush, shake it off, and keep on working. When the snake bit Paul, he did not panic. Grabbing the snake's head would have injected more poison into himself. We rarely make good decisions when we are in panic mode. Paul did not rush or do something in a hurry. Rushing to free himself by pulling the snake off would have done more damage to his hand because of the curved nature of the snakes fangs. When we rush into action, we usually make the situation worse. He just shook it off. Trouble is usually a short term situation if we don't focus on it and give it more attention than it deserves. God can handle whatever it is. Paul kept on working. Don't let a negative situation cause you to stop working for The Lord. When trouble strikes, be like the Apostle Paul, don't panic, don't rush, shake it off, and keep on working for The Lord.
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