On one occasion, Paul, a friend of Jesus, was traveling on a large ship. But then came a great storm! The wind blew so strong that the ship broke down. All the people on the ship fell into the water, but God took good care and everyone arrived safely on an island. The island was called Malta.
The people on the island were very nice and helped Paul and the others warm up. It was cold and rainy, so they made a big, warm fire. Paul wanted to help and collected wood for the fire.
When Paul put the wood in the fire, a serpent suddenly came out of the wood! The serpent bit Paul’s hand. Oh no! The people who lived there were very afraid. They thought Paul would now get sick or even die. Snake bites are otherwise very dangerous!
But Paul remained very calm. He simply shook the snake into the fire, and nothing happened to him. People were amazed. They could hardly believe that Paul was so okay. Then they realized that God was watching over Paul.
Because Paul remained healthy, people understood that God is really great and powerful. Paul could tell them a lot about God, and they were happy to listen to him.
Message of history
God protects us, even when bad things happen. We can trust Him because He cares for us.
Bible passage
The story in which Paul is bitten by a serpent and remains unharmed is found in Acts 28:1-6:
“And after we were saved, we learned that the island is called Melite. The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for they lit a fire and took us all in, because of the onset of rain and because of the cold. So when Paul gathered up a lot of brushwood and laid it on the fire, an otter came out because of the heat and bit his hand. But when the natives saw the beast hanging by his hand, they said to one another, “This man is certainly a murderer, who, although he has escaped from the sea, must not live.” But he shook the animal into the fire and suffered nothing bad. But they expected him to swell or suddenly fall dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual happened to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.”
