Dealing with vipers

First, abandoning a ship as it slams against rocks; then getting bit by a deadly viper. You thought you had problems? This describes a single day in the life of Paul the apostle!

A few years ago my pastor taught a series from Acts 27 and 28—where this scenario is found—and preached from the circumstances surrounding Paul’s shipwreck. So much can be gleaned from what appears to be a series of haphazard events in the apostle’s life.

One thing in particular my pastor focused on was the viper that Paul picked up in the bundle of sticks he gathered for the fire. Here’s the context:

“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.’ However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm” (Acts 28:1-5, emphasis added).

As my pastor preached the message back then, I heard the Lord say to me, “This message is for your equipping.” Because of that, I took copious notes and spent several days praying over them. And as I prayed, that viper stood out to me, too, so I’m going to offer some thoughts that came to me about the whole viper situation. Here they are:

Paul had been walking around, picking up sticks to place on the fire. He was busy providing his supply. At some point, he picked up the snake by mistake.

I’ve had a little experience with the ways of reptiles in nature, so as I thought about this, I figured two things. First, it was probably dark out, making it difficult for Paul to discriminate between sticks and snakes; and second, it was cold. Reptiles are dormant in the cold; their metabolism slows down in the winter and they are sluggish on cooler days until the environment warms up sufficiently. The viper Paul picked up was likely in such a state of inertia, and therefore was unable to slither out of the stack of sticks—its muscles just wouldn’t cooperate in the cold.

This made me think about something. When we serve one another and provide our share of the supply, sometimes, unbeknownst to us, we pick up a dormant viper. We don’t choose to pick up the viper; we don’t know that somewhere within our supply a viper is hiding; but it’s there, nonetheless.

“How could a viper get mixed up in my supply?”you might wonder. It may have hitched a ride in habits you acquired way before you ever met Jesus. Perhaps it was hiding in thoughts that you never took captive to the obedience of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Possibly the viper found its way into your supply via some thoughtless or hurtful remark directed toward you by others—possibly even by believers—and you never realized that, as a result, you picked up something venomous in your supply.

Snakes don’t move much when they’re in a dormant, resting state, and therefore often go unnoticed.

Because I know this about snakes, something else caught my eye. The Bible records that Paul was unaware of the viper he carried in his supply until he added his portion to the roaring fire—then out came the snake!

When you live an uninvolved, uninvested life, often the resulting unruffled season can give the semblance of “all is well”. But just step into the arena, seek to gather sticks for the fire so you can offer your supply, and then, more often than not, a viper gets stirred up due to the heat produced by your genuine service to God.

Vipers are primarily ground dwellers; they sleep among rocks and sticks, and even Paul, the man of God, accidentally picked one up. When God is using you or anyone else, be aware that if any venomous reptile is hiding within the supply, it will wake up when exposed to the heat. And here you are, stirring the fire by obeying God! That’s precisely when a viper will raise its scaly head—when the fire of God starts heating up through the obedience of His people.

A viper may strike out, either from your own or someone else’s supply, but don’t let that alarm you. The presence of a viper does not mean that the supply is deficient; it just means that somehow a viper slithered in undetected.

When a viper strikes in real life, the snake is usually killed and the one who is bit is cared for and given medical attention. However, sometimes among Christians, the victims of snake bite don’t fare nearly as well—sometimes we treat the victim as if he were the viper itself! Getting bit by a serpent does not make you a serpent! Have as much sense as a boy scout on the trail—kill the viper; care for the victim. Remember—the viper and the victim are two different entities!

When a venomous snake does strike, what is the proper procedure? Paul demonstrated the technique quite aptly. He shook the viper into the very fire that awakened it! Paul didn’t spend a minute berating himself for accidentally picking up the serpent; he did not lose his peace by wondering if other vipers were out there; no. He enjoyed the fire, received God’s healing from the venom, and went on with his life and ministry.

If you, like Paul, get bit by a viper as you provide your supply, shake that serpent into the fire of God’s power, grace, and covenant mercies. Let His fire consume the venomous pest that seeks to fasten to you as you share your supply, once and for all. And like Paul, you should not only shake that poisonous thing into the fire, but also refuse to berate yourself for bumbling into the viper into the first place. Above all, resist the fear of future vipers, and enjoy the fire of God and His wonderful healing, cleansing power. Know and expect that you will live a life full of obeying God and helping others with your supply.

You don’t have to be harmed by the venom of vipers unwittingly picked up in the course of life; when they strike, do as Paul did. Trust God and shake that thing, poison and all, into the fire!

May God bless you as you offer your supply!

Dorothy

No weapon that is formed against you will prosper…Isaiah 54:17a