Shake it Off

Anneke and I went to Malta in June to see St Paul’s Bay. We saw mega yachts, tourists, but no snakes. After his shipwreck, Paul washed up on the island of Malta, cold and wet, but alive. “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 on his hand… But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.” — Acts 28:3,5. The locals assumed he was cursed, a murderer who had escaped the sea only to be judged by fate. But Paul didn’t defend himself; he simply shook the snake off into the fire and kept going. People who don’t know God often judge your worth by your wounds. They see the bites and assume you’re cursed. But they don’t know the promise over your life. They didn’t know that neither storm nor shipwreck could stop him, and this snake wouldn’t either.

The enemy may try to poison your purpose, but if God says you’re going to Rome, the only one who can stop you is you. Maybe you’ve failed. Maybe you’ve fallen. Maybe you’ve given in to temptation, lost your temper, wasted time, or doubted your worth. But God isn’t shocked by your weakness. He knew every failure before you made it—and He still chose you. His forgiveness is not for once but forever.

 Friend, the enemy may bite, but he can’t stop you from reaching your destiny unless you let him. The venom isn’t in the bite; it’s in the belief that you’re finished. God won’t give you a promise that someone else can ruin. So shake off the shame. Shake off the fear. Shake off small vision and go on, because if Heaven started your journey, hell can’t stop it.