When the Snakes Come - Martin Wiles

So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. Numbers 21:6 NLT

She sat on the porch, oblivious to what her future held.

I did, too, until I got up and walked to our backyard. I noticed a chicken snake sunning in the middle of the yard. Feeling a little devilish, I carefully grabbed the snake behind the head, walked back to the front porch, and showed my wife.

A scream was the last thing I heard before my wife ran into the house and locked the door. But not before she ran in place a few steps, so frightened she couldn’t move. After convincing her I had let the snake go, she came out. I learned quickly how she reacts when she sees a snake. And this was a mistake I didn’t make again. I loved being married to her too much.

God’s people didn’t like snakes either. The snake has a sordid history in God’s economy. Satan worked through one to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey God. Now God sent hundreds of them into the Israelite camp because His people stubbornly disobeyed him on a regular basis.  

The solution for those with poison coursing through their veins? God told Moses to make a bronze replica of a snake and hoist it on a pole. Anyone who looked at it in belief would be healed. I imagine many of them did.

God may not use snakes today, but He does send consequences when we chose to sin against Him. Not because He’s a dastardly deity who enjoys watching us suffer, but because He’s a loving God who knows sin ruins our lives and destroys His purpose for us. Like children who need discipline when they go astray, we do too.

Snakes come in the form of death, which reminds us of sin’s curse. God says the soul who sins dies. Perhaps God’s original plan was for humans to live forever and never experience physical death. Regardless, spiritual death comes to any who refuse to look to God in faith.

God can also send snakes in other forms: financial loss, relationship loss, emotional crashes, discouragement. Whatever the form of the snake, God’s purpose remains the same. He wants us to confess our sins and come to Him in obedience. Only by loving Him with all our hearts and letting go of sinful habits can we experience life’s best.

When God sends snakes into your life, confess any sin quickly and run to Him with obedience.

Prayer: Father, when You send the snakes, move us to make the appropriate response.

Tweetable: What do you do when the snakes appear? 

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Snake Surprise - Martin Wiles

But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Acts 3:6 NLT

Little did I know the surprise I was in for as I walked along the ditch bank.

Electronic gadgets were few and far between when I was a boy. Even if they had been prevalent, my parents couldn’t have afforded them or if they could have probably would have chosen not to spend their money on them. They wanted me to use my imagination. So I spent most of my time outdoors, romping through the woods, playing cowboys and Indians, riding my bicycle, and playing ball with the neighborhood kids.

One place where we lived had a deep drainage ditch behind the house. One side was fenced and the other wasn’t. As I walked along the fenced side, enjoying the day, I came face to face with a garter snake. I’ve never been one to fear snakes—as long as I see them first. But this one snuck up on me. Luckily, I grabbed the hog wire fence as I fell backward, which kept me from plummeting into the water-filled ditch. This was one surprise I didn’t appreciate. 

The lame beggar Peter and John encountered, on the other hand, enjoyed his surprise. They were going to the Temple for prayer service; he was sitting beside the gate begging for alms. He expected money; they had none. But what they had, they gave. Through the healing power Jesus had given them, they gave the man a surprise: the ability to walk. 

Life’s surprises may surprise me, but they never surprise God. Sometimes my reactions to the surprises make it appear I’ve forgotten God sees the beginning, the end, and everything in the middle. He knew the surprise was coming. He sent it or allowed it. Surprises are never outside of His control becasue He is sovereign.

Through life’s surprises, God often gives me more than I ask for. The beggar wanted money but received the ability to do something he’d never done: walk. God loves to give large surprises because His love is large. 

I’m also learning to see life’s surprises as God-sent opportunities. Rather than letting the surprises alarm, frighten, or disappoint me, I can learn from them and use them for future service opportunities.

Don’t waste life’s surprises. They may surprise you, but God is working them into His plan for your life.

Tweetable: How do you handle surprises?

Prayer: Father, give us wisdom to trust You by faith when surprises come our way so we’ll know how to appreciate them and use them in Your service. 

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