There was once a man whose passion to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ led him to be shipwrecked on an island. This man had a strong call of God on his life, which did not waver because he had been arrested for his faith and sent to Rome for trial. God had graciously given Paul and others shipwrecked a place to land and provided friendly islanders to help them recover from the shipwreck caused by a storm, first by building them a fire for warmth. Paul tried to help the hosts by gathering a pile of brushwood for the fire, but a poisonous viper who had been napping in the pile did not appreciate the gesture. Instead, it attached itself to Paul’s hand. If I had been Paul I would have been tempted to wonder WHY in the midst of trying to help other stranded people in this cold, rainy storm, would this snake have chosen that moment to attach?
Maybe the reason is simply that we live in the playground of the enemy of our souls. And maybe the reason isn’t as important as the revelation God had given Paul.
He KNEW he would face trial in front of Caesar in Rome. So, the storm would not harm him, the shipwreck would not harm him, and the viper would not harm him. Paul shook off the snake. When the native islanders saw the viper attach, they assumed Paul must be a murderer and waited to watch him swell up and die. But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. Paul had to stand up to the adversity – the snake’s attachment – in order to get to the opportunity that God was about to present.
On that island was a public official whose father was very ill. Acts 28:8-9 tells us, “His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.” With the same hand that was attacked by the viper, Paul laid hands on and prayed for healing for this man. In response, not only was he healed, many on the island came for healing.
Without the storm there would have been no shipwreck. Without the shipwreck there would have been no healings. God took the “mistake” and turned it into a miracle. Then that miracle turned into a mission. Because of Paul’s ministry to the people of the island, they provided care for the shipwrecked for three months, after which time the islanders furnished supplies needed when the storm victims were ready to sail. Although Acts doesn’t enumerate this, I can only assume that when a whole island’s worth of people saw the many healings that Christ did through Paul, many, many people probably came to faith in Jesus Christ.
How many stories have you heard of “mistakes” that turned into “miracles” and “missions?” I know of two pastors whose life stories are about how far they were from God – how deeply they were caught in the sin and depravity of the world – and how God met them where they were, changed the trajectory of their lives, and now they are both successfully pastoring thriving churches. Similarly, people pulled out of drug addictions, sex trafficking, alcoholism, abusive relationships and many other things go on (by the grace of God) to help rescue others from those horrific situations. God can turn mistakes into miracles and missions.
God of Miracles,
Thank you for your faithfulness, love, and grace to your children. Thank you for stories like that of the Apostle Paul and how his shipwreck led to a whole island of people learning of God’s love, healing, and grace for them. Thank you for bringing us out of the shipwrecks in our life, sometimes using outright miracles, and giving us a purpose and mission for our lives. Help us to stand up to adversity, to claim our authority over the power of the enemy, and to live confidently under the empowerment of Holy Spirit. Thank you for the reminder that sometimes the reasons for our troubles aren’t as important as the promises you have for our lives, and help us remember that ALL your promises to us are “YES!” Give us grace, courage, and favor as we fulfill the callings you have to us and as we live in your promises. We ask in Jesus’s name, Amen.
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV)
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19 NIV)
The story of the Apostle Paul’s shipwreck is found in Acts 27-28.
h/t Rev. Josh Barclay