Shake It Off

Introduction The Paul Experience THE BIBLE SAYS, “And he SHOOK OFF the beast into the fire, and felt no harm” (Acts 28:5). But how do we change our mindset to shake off things? What do we do? The whole point of this book is that we must be able to SHAKE IT OFF. Turn that snake over to God and shake it off. Sadly, too many people allow their situation to get the best of them. A lot of people let their circumstances get them down. You must be able to shake things off. It is important to shake it off and keep going. Don’t look back but look forward. In all likelihood, you may have lost the friendship of your best friend. Maybe your boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse cheated on you. Or you failed a test. It makes you want to give up. Whatever the case may be, you must be able to shake things off and bounce back when things get you down! For your own good, you must be able to roll with the punches! Consider this: the most significant test of life is the ability to adjust. In adjusting to your life, you must shake things off. And never let your problems make you sing the blues. It’s okay to shake off things when your religion has an outward show and minus of an inward glow. You must be able to shake it off. In a competitive society, when we get criticized for doing good and magnified for doing wrong, we must be able to shake it off. In a world where people will magnify your faults and minimize your faithfulness, you must be able to shake them off. For out of the calm clearness of your day can come the disturbing blackness of a fearful night, you must be able to shake it off. Fundamentally, this means one day you can be happy—the next day unhappy; you can be in one day but out the next day; you can be up one day but down the next day; you can be healthy one day but sick the next day, and you can have plenty of friends one day and none the next day! So, when life deals you a terrible hand, it is essential to be strong enough to shake it off. When adversity comes (and we know it will), we have no choice but to shake it off. And when trouble comes, we have got to shake it off. In order to illustrate this point, the text presents Satan, having been unsuccessful in killing Paul with a storm, now trying another tactic. Paul and the crew safely landed on the shores of Melita. If only they had listened to Paul and stayed with the ship. But on the other hand, the captain didn’t listen, for Paul had told him not to sail. According to the Bible, “The captain ignored Paul and sailed away without stopping” (see Acts 27:21; verses 1-44). (I can tell you!) He was more than just the captain. He was the owner of the ship. And you know how we are when we think we own something. I want you to be careful (for your sake) how you brag about what you own: “Yes, this is my car. I own it.” “Then this is my house.” “I say this is my furniture.” All right, be careful how you brag about what you own. As we read in the Bible, it says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). Since God created the earth; therefore, it belongs to him. Sadly, it is now in rebellion against God, being dominated more or less by Satan, the devil, and evil spirits. People who refuse to believe the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, have been blinded by Satan (see 11 Corinthians 4:4); however, with the Second Coming, everything will be made right when Jesus returns. Let us make this practical. Perhaps you should be careful how you brag about what you own. What you have now that may be gone tomorrow: You may have a pretty good job; you may have a little money in the bank; you may have a change of clothes; you may not worry about what you are going to eat tomorrow, but all that can change overnight; your job can go out of business; your bank account can dry up; things can change overnight, and when things change for the worse, you’ve got to be able to shake it off! The transition will pass with swiftness, so put your hope in your future (“by loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind”) instead of money. As a result, money will buy a bed, but it will not buy sleep; money will buy food, but not an appetite; money will buy medicine, but not health; money will buy a house, but not a home, and money will buy a diamond–ring, but it will not buy love! Therefore, you had better build your hopes on things eternal and hold to the Lord’s unchanging hand; they came to Melita, and the Barbarian people showed them no little kindness; the Barbarians showed them much kindness; a lot of compassion. The term Barbarian meant that they were uncivilized, uncultured, uneducated, and unexposed. They were (un) everything you could think about, but they had sense enough to be kind. Now? What is our problem? We have been to school. Some of us got more degrees than a thermometer, and some of us do not have sense enough to say “good morning and good evening.”