When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us extraordinary kindness, for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold; they kindled a fire and received us all. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.
When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.”
But they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.
Acts 28:1-6
The Apostle Paul wanted to go Rome to preach the Gospel. He did not plan to go as a prisoner. Nor did he anticipate that he would be shipwrecked, rescued, bitten by a snake, accused of being a murder and then called a god. However, Paul took what we would consider to be a horrible trip and turned it into a mission trip.
So, when we are trying to do something for God and things are not going the way we planned, we need to consider that perhaps things are going according to God’s plan and go with the flow. And, we might be surprised how well things work out.
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