Put yourself in his shoes for a minute as he is standing there on the shore in the cold and the rain in the aftermath of the shipwreck, putting firewood onto the fire, when all of a sudden he is bitten by a poisonous snake.

What would be going through your mind if this had been YOUR trial?

Your thoughts would probably not have been happy thoughts.

But six months prior, he had testified before King Agrippa that he thought himself happy. And it seems that this exercise of making himself “think happy” had not changed one iota.

Not even with a shipwreck and a poisonous snake. And two and a half years of imprisonment.

And so he just shook off the snake and threw it into the fire.

What did he know? He knew that Christians are not subject to the effects of a poisonous snake. Unless, of course, they BELIEVE they are. Unless they WANT to be.

And he knew that Christians can’t be taken out by great trials that take years to get through. Unless they BELIEVE they can be. Unless they WANT to be.

God’s promises are still good.

After the shipwreck, Paul and his party were invited to come stay in the governor’s mansion on the island of Malta. And THAT was where one of the most awesome ministry opportunities that Paul ever had just fell into his lap!

The governor’s father was sick. And so, like any normal Christian does, Paul laid his hands on him and healed him.

And a massive revival broke out where EVERY other sick person in the island came and got healed too!

Malta is slightly smaller in area than the city of Atlanta, but a pretty good comparison. Can you imagine sick people walking from all across Atlanta to come to where Paul was staying so they could get healed?

It happened! EVERY sick person on the island was healed! It took him three months to work through the crowd!

And when Paul and his party finally left to resume their journey, the people were so grateful that they took up an offering and made sure they left with everything they had lost in the shipwreck restored to them.

Just a normal day in the life of a normal Christian who thinks himself happy and does normal Christian stuff.

What would it take to see such a revival today?

1. Christians would have to think themselves happy. They can’t change society when they look like they’re sucking on lemons.

2. Christians would have to practice normal Christianity and heal people. Powerless Christianity is not a product that most people want to buy.

3. Christians would have to stop giving so much power to their circumstances. Snakes, shipwrecks, prison, and sickness only have the power that you, yourself, give them.

Revivals don’t just happen. Not Malta revivals. God uses people to change the lives of people. He wants to use YOU.