It is easy to answer yes in the metaphorical sense. But when life leaves us stranded in a situation we did not foresee and do not want to be in, hope and purpose are usually lost to us. The shipwrecked crew in Acts 28 had just personally experienced the grace and power of God that resulted in the retention of their lives. A little sea-beaten but alive in faith and fresh off of the rescue, God was able to exemplify why, out of any island, the one they had come to was honey island.
- HONEY ISLAND
Paul and company discovered themselves to be preserved and on new land... albeit shipwrecked, on an island called Melita, "honey". So often is that the result of our fight in faith, feeling shipwrecked in a new place. We wrestle to subdue the parts within and around us that are not in alignment with God's word and find ourselves on new, unfamiliar ground. But the truth is: that ground is holy, that ground is honey.
In Psalm 119:30 God's word is described as sweet as honey; and throughout the Bible, honey is a representation of faith and health, and the wisdom and love of God. And so to arrive on honey island after a literal and spiritual battle is to arrive into blessing. Honey island is that haven faith brought you to just before you lost or gave up completely. Honey island is the place where God is most efficiently able to heal and restore you, because you have finally arrived in a place where you invite Him to do so.
The men aboard the ship with Paul had just submitted themselves to God's will. Before God would restore them to voyage, they needed time with Him. To bask in His love and instruction, to become strong enough to retain their faith once restored to their original purposes. From this we can understand how important it is to have the special, isolated time with God. He won't simply send us back out into the world on flimsy faith. We need to build the relationship, experience life from His perspective and observe what is is to operate in accordance with His will.
- NO LITTLE KINDNESS
Unforeseen arrivals in an unknown land, Paul and the crew could fully expect not to be welcomed by the island's inhabitants. The opposite happened: all surviving men of the shipwreck were met with extreme kindness and care. They were cold and wet and without bribe or even request were warmed with fire.
The process of building strength, even spiritual strength, requires time. A new commitment, even a wholehearted one, is often weak and in need of coddling. We have to build our relationship with God. Trust is not an on/off switch. Love is not a well. We can't simply fall into it and remain. Each is a voyage, a process. And thus it is only through walking that we begin to build and grow those things.
What we can expect is that will provide the fire. Cold and wet or weak as we may be, God supports us in that time. New in faith (or in the renewing of faith or a new area of faith) we are seen by God as a fawn or hatching. A small thing in need of support and nourishment. That is the word and will of God. So dependent on it, we must ask ourselves if we have been receptive to it. God is providing, are we receiving?
- BECAUSE OF THE HEAT
Faith formed in our lives is a fire. Faith ignites inspiration and courage within it. It ignites our determination and passion and purpose. And when we are fired up in such things, it makes sense that the injustices we begin to contend with will bite.
Paul did a good thing. No matter where he was: on the road; in a prison; or shipwrecked on a island, Paul brought people to God. It was the work and purpose of his life. As the fire grew hotter and began to warm the people around it, a venomous viper came out and bit Paul in the hand. The bite has spiritual implications.
In the fight for justice we will meet resistance. In the preaching of scripture we will face rejection and even hostility. And that rejection and hostility will always intend to stop our work. To bite our hand, to ultimately thwart our purpose. And that viper, in whatever form it comes in, will have the power to do so... if we have not been receptive to God.
The inhabitants of the island were certain that Paul would die. A bite from such a danger could not be survived. And they were right. It could not be survived... without God. There is so much that we cannot do and cannot survive if we are not accessing, through faith, the power and strength of God. But Paul had been receptive to God; he was accessing those holy storehouses and therefore he was impervious to the bite.
God wants us to understand that when we are doing the work of the Kingdom of God we may be confronted by enemies but will never be subdued by them. When we are plugged into faith, we have the nourishment to persevere through derailment. God's protection over us will astound others: the islanders thought Paul a supernatural being because of he survived.
But as God's children, we know the truth. God has told us:Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, James 4:7. As Paul did, shake the enemies off and continue to preserve in spiritual purpose: in loving others, in providing for family, in assisting strangers and supporting the weak.
There is an insufficient number of people working such causes! Matthew 9:35-38 tells us so:
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
God will protect the laborers because they are few and desperately needed. Those who have welcomed the power and love of God into theirs lives are best able to project it into the lives of others. God's purpose has always been to perpetuate the kingdom, to gather its members and care for them. When we join in that work, our survival is not just crucial but also arranged by God. And when we do eventually come to an end here, as all on earth must do, we will have provided many others with their start. We need not fear the bite of the viper.
- YE ARE GODS
The islanders were so amazed by Paul's survival that they thought him a god. In John 10:34-35, Jesus referred to God's children as gods. Not because of any power we have of our own. Not because we are better or smarter or more valued but because we have welcomed the power of God into our lives, our hands, our efforts. Our impact on the world is godly because it is done by God through us. Without His wisdom, strength and courage we would fail.
Paul, the other apostles and disciples were able to heal in immediate and visible ways. The way we heal now is a little different. The same God is able to conquer the same illnesses but spirituality has become more complex. We are stronger now, made able to thrive despite illness. The healing we receive now is of the spirit. We are revived, restored to life. Sometimes we heal in physical ways, like Paul healed the father of Publius in this chapter, and sometimes we do not. But either way, we are a message. A strength, meant to exemplify to others the power of the Spirit of God with us.
Honey island now, is a personal and spiritual experience. We are healed of everything we bring to God, and then are abundantly supplied for our journey back into the world to live, preach with our lives of the honey that is God's word and love.
- BOUND FOR HOPE
The machinations of men, the enemies of Paul, would have made his journey to Rome entirely nonsensical. Paul was innocent and certainly not worthy of death. They had no truthful claims against him. But because Paul was an agent of God's will, there was purpose in the journey.
Paul explained "it is for the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain, (Acts 28:20)" God will ensure there is purpose in every day that we live for Him. We need only to be receptive to what instructions He has for us each day. Broadly, we are meant to love others, uphold justice, and support the weak. What that looks like in detail is particular to the individual.
Take heart that whatever chain you bear, God use it to benefit you and others and then will break it. 1 Peter 5:10 states:
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
We must have and endure the journey of the struggle in order to build the spiritual muscle to come out of it stronger. Wiser. More perceptive and objective and just and compassionate. That time of suffering is packed with nutrients we need to grow in faith, and strength and character. It is packed with the seeds we need to grow great things. That time prepares us to move the mountains God has said we would move.
Although they feel real, the chains in our lives are like play handcuffs. They are temporary, removable and God has the key. To unlock them, we need only to listen to and trust and follow Him to where the key is kept. And in the meantime we must live as Paul lived:
Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
We must live quite undeterred in our mission to perpetuate God's love and receive it also for ourselves. The journey for Paul could have been ridiculous and a waste of time. It could have been a depressant and an end. Instead Paul kept His eyes on God, his life on track, and his faith forward. His life resulted in blessing.