Shipwrecks & Snakebites
I continue my read and blog my way through the book of Acts. If you're a linear or sequential kind of person please forgive me, but I read Acts 27-28 today. I think I've read those stories several dozen times, but this series on miracles helped me see them in a different light.
Thank God for shipwrecks and snakebites! Acts 28 record a revival that happens on the Island Malta. But that revival would have never happened without two "tragedies." It was a shipwreck that took them "off course" and forced them to make an emergency landing on Malta. It wasn't on their itinerary. They didn't plan on getting off on the Malta exit. But God used that shipwreck to strategically position them in the right place at the right time. Then another potential "tragedy" happened. Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake. The people thought Paul was cursed, but when he didn't die from the venom they believed he was a god. Long story short, he got to share the gospel with the chief official of the Island named Publius as a result of those two tragedies.
So here is my thought for the day. Have you ever prayed for a shipwreck or snakebite? Me neither! But God can use those "tragedies" and turn them into opportunities to display His power and wisdom and grace. So praise God for shipwrecks and snakebites. I never thought I'd say that, but that is precisely what happens in Acts 27-28. God turns tragedies into opportunities.
If you want to experience a miracle, sometimes your ship needs to wreck or you need to get bitten by a venomous snake. It's those life-threatening problems that "set things up" for God to display His glory. Most of us perceive shipwrecks and snakebites as problems. Maybe we need to see them as miraculous opportunities!
Thank God for shipwrecks and snakebites! Acts 28 record a revival that happens on the Island Malta. But that revival would have never happened without two "tragedies." It was a shipwreck that took them "off course" and forced them to make an emergency landing on Malta. It wasn't on their itinerary. They didn't plan on getting off on the Malta exit. But God used that shipwreck to strategically position them in the right place at the right time. Then another potential "tragedy" happened. Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake. The people thought Paul was cursed, but when he didn't die from the venom they believed he was a god. Long story short, he got to share the gospel with the chief official of the Island named Publius as a result of those two tragedies.
So here is my thought for the day. Have you ever prayed for a shipwreck or snakebite? Me neither! But God can use those "tragedies" and turn them into opportunities to display His power and wisdom and grace. So praise God for shipwrecks and snakebites. I never thought I'd say that, but that is precisely what happens in Acts 27-28. God turns tragedies into opportunities.
If you want to experience a miracle, sometimes your ship needs to wreck or you need to get bitten by a venomous snake. It's those life-threatening problems that "set things up" for God to display His glory. Most of us perceive shipwrecks and snakebites as problems. Maybe we need to see them as miraculous opportunities!
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