While serving the Lord, have you ever felt the poisonous fangs of the enemy? The Apostle Paul did both literally and figuratively. A deadly viper bit him when he was in Melita and hung from his hand.
Acts 28:3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
An old saying is, “If the devil never causes you any problems, it is because you never cause him any problems.” If you are engaged in the Lord’s work, at some point, you will feel the fangs of the enemy. When you are bitten, how you respond will determine your outcome and all those influenced by you. Paul illustrates in Acts 28 what to do when “that old serpent called the Devil and Satan” (Rev. 12:9) latches onto us.
We Must Shake off the Beast!
Acts 28:5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
When criticized, scoffed, or slandered in the work of the Lord, shake it off!
We all know people who can’t wait to introduce us to the viper hanging from their hand. “This viper bit me twenty years ago…This is how it all went down…” Thus, the viper hangs from their arm, memorializing their pain and poison forever.
By prayer, forgiveness, and faith, shake off the beast, or it will hang on. The Lord provided supernatural healing, strength, and continuance for Paul in Mileta, and he will do the same for you and me.
Matthew 5:44-45 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Shake Off the Beast and Continue.
Act 28:6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
The purpose of a snake’s poison is to immobilize the victim and then devour its prey. We have all known people who have discontinued their service to the Lord because Satan’s bite has paralyzed them. Jesus told his disciples when they were rejected and mistreated, to shake off the dust of their feet and continue.
Luke 9:5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
Shake Off the Beast and Continue with the Same Passion.
Acts 28:6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
Only after Paul was bitten and continued did God open the hearts of the people in Melita to the gospel. They only changed their minds about Paul after seeing him get bitten and continue his work. When naturally he should have succumbed to the poison, God supernaturally intervened, giving Paul a powerful testimony.
Paul and Silas did great work for the Lord in Thessalonica (Acts 17), but it was only after being “shamefully treated” in Philippi (Acts 16). In Philippi, they were wrongfully accused, illegally beaten, and then driven out of town. Instead of quitting, they continued by praising God all night long (Acts 16:25-30). Because they shook it off and continued with the same passion, the Philippian jailor was saved, and the town of Thessalonica opened up to the gospel because of their testimony. They were “shamefully entreated” but shook it off and continued with the same passion.
1 Thessalonians 2:2 But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.
Paul and his fellow missionaries could have said, “The last time I reached out my hand, a snake bit me! I will never do that again!” Instead, they didn’t let old bitter poison affect their present disposition. “Even after we had suffered, we were bold in our God!”
Remember, you are not the only one who knows you are bitten. The folks in Melita saw Paul bitten. In Acts 16, it says that the prisoners heard Paul and Silas singing praises after being beaten and put in stocks, and Thessalonica knew about Paul and Silas’s shameful treatment. People are waiting for you to succumb to the poison. What you do next will determine how people respond to the gospel. So “shake it off,” “Shake it off and continue,” and “continue with the same passion.”