Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, ‘This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.’ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They honoured us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

ACTS 28:1–10

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The storms we encounter will sometimes leave us in strange places, sometimes far from the destinations we thought God was leading us to. What might God be up to?

That was certainly the case for Paul. We’ve been tracking with him for several weeks now, and, in today’s passage, the ship finally ran aground and everyone made it safely to what turned out to be Malta, an island some 700 miles south of Rome, where the ship had set out to reach.

Here, Paul again takes centre stage. He shakes off a deadly snake bite and, when the father of a prominent figure is healed of sickness after he prays for him, others are brought to him and miraculously healed. The gospel had arrived on Malta – and since then, it’s never left.

Like Paul, Pastor Chandra* from India was in a storm of his own, leading him to an unwanted place: prison instead of the pulpit. He was in a prayer meeting when angry locals barged in. ‘Who gave you permission to gather this way and pray?’ they said, before calling the police, who sided with the mob. Pastor Chandra spent a few weeks in jail.

Despite this, he prayed for God’s will to be done. The pastor shared a cell with two prisoners who, spotting him praying, asked what he was doing. Pastor Chandra shared the gospel, and both became Christians!

We may not find ourselves in jail or shipwrecked in Malta, but our own storm can leave us on an unusual island, far from our intended destination. I’ve seen this in my life. Seven years ago, a painful work situation left me in a place and profession I didn’t want to be in. The career I was working hard towards felt unreachable and God felt distant. But many good things emerged from the experience.

Not all storms have a happy ending – Paul’s challenges continued in Rome and Pastor Chandra continues to face the threat of persecution. But let’s take heart from their stories knowing that whatever islands our storms leave us on, God is unfailingly near.

‘I knew that I’d face difficulties and struggles in jail, but God was with me,’ says Pastor Chandra. ‘At first, I wasn’t sure about what the purpose for my being in jail was, but I did not fear. God was with me, and the Holy Spirit kept reminding me to not be afraid.’

Tim Bechervaise
Copywriter for Open Doors UK & Ireland and freelance writer

If you feel far from where you want to be, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a vision and purpose for the island you find yourself on.

*Name changed for security reasons