Shake it off!

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There are moments when it seems from out of nowhere a comment, a thought, another problem, an email, a call strikes leaving a sting, a barb that begins to fester.  The proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back. It’s taking you down fast.

In Acts 28, the apostle Paul, his companions, shipmates, fellow prisoners, soldiers, and sailors have all been washed up on the beach at Malta. They are battered, wet, cold and glad to be alive. They have survived a long horrific storm culminating in a shipwreck that plunged them all into breakers pounding the coast.  By the grace of God they are safe.  They gather their strength and build a fire to keep warm. Paul tosses more driftwood onto the fire only to have a viper who had been asleep in the wood wake with the heat and fasten itself to his arm.  What does Paul do?  I know what I would have done – I would have screamed, hoped someone would remove the thing and then probably done a dramatic swoon. Okay, a little bit of Hollywood drama in that last sentence!  Not Paul. He shook the viper off and carried on, much to the amazement of the islanders, who were convinced he was going to die.


This little story caught my attention one morning, especially the words “he shook it off”.  I carried on with my day and then had one of “those days” that went from okay to bad to worse.  By the end of the day I am feeling very sorry for myself, I am descending the slippery slope into discouragement and despair. I am bewailing the fact we have already survived a covid storm, an intense season of battling constant change and now this!!  I am sure you get the picture. My day was beginning to feel a great deal like Paul’s bedraggled day. But Paul “shook it off!”

Paul is already my “resilience” hero.  He gets knocked down and comes back. He had learned a thing or two about tough times. The closer you get to the heat, watch out for vipers! Paul didn’t let the sting of despair, the bite of discouragement, the poison of self-pity keep its hold on him.  He shook it off.  He knew if he entertained that thing, he would be dead.  Here was my challenge – yes a “viper” had attacked but was I going to allow it to inject its poison or would I shake it off?

Jesus instructed his disciples when he sent them out to declare the kingdom of God had come to go where they were welcomed and to demonstrate God’s kingdom – heal the sick, set the captive free and preach the good news.  If they were not welcomed they were to “shake off the dust” of that place and move on.  Once again, “shake it off”!   Shake off the unbelief, shake off the cynicism, shake off the hostility, shake off doubt, shake off discouragement and carry on. Don’t let the bite of the viper, the dust of rejection take you out or take you down. The ‘viper’ will stop you from doing what God has called you to be or do.

How can we “shake off” the vipers or the dust?  Here’s a couple of ways I have found. Say “no!”  No to self-pity, no to discouragement, no to unbelief, no to criticism, no to failure!  Say “yes” to God’s view of things. Yes to Grace, yes to “God’s got this”! Pull out the “give thanks in all circumstances” tool that Paul encouraged the early church to do so many times. Follow his example and burst into songs of praise. No “viper” is going to hang around with that kind of noise.  Like Paul, don’t entertain it. Be quick to deal with it.

When Paul shook off the viper, something shifted in that island – the kingdom of God had broken in. His simple act of shaking off the viper was actually miraculous and supernatural. God’s power was demonstrated. The islanders wanted to know more. They brought their sick to Paul and were healed. What if we were quicker to shake off our discouragement, or disappointment or self-pity, or unbelief – what would those around us see?  Maybe they too would they see the kingdom of God breaking through in us. Just maybe our action will promote hope in them too.

Shake it off and carry on!


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