A Place Called Malta
The story starts in Acts 27 when, after two years of waiting, Paul was finally sailing for Rome. His whole life had led up to this moment – all of his experience and training had prepared him to preach the gospel before Caesar himself.
The trip starts off very well, Paul was given liberty to visit friends and the ship was headed to the intended place, when everything started to unravel.
Paul faces one of the fiercest storms in his life… “the winds were against us.” (Acts 27:4)
The wind carrying Paul to his mission in Rome suddenly shifted. Have you ever felt this way? When you’re doing what God has called you to do, and all of a sudden, the winds are against you. It makes you frustrated… why is this happening to me, God?
So often we get so concerned with what we’re doing for God that we forget He is doing something in us. He leads us into winds and storms to show us just how unbreakable his promises are.
The violent storm ended up in a shipwreck that took Paul to unexpected places, but finally they got safely onshore to an island called Malta. A place where the islanders were showing Paul and his crew unusual kindness. In the midst of their welcome, the islanders built a fire because it was raining and cold. Then, Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. (Acts 28:1-3 paraphrased) So, not only is now Paul in an unexpected and unplanned place, he now gets bitten by a viper. Have you heard that saying: “Sometimes when it rains, it pours?” Well, that’s probably how Paul was feeling at the moment… “Are you kidding me, Lord?” Then “Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.” (Acts 28:5) Now the people, the nice welcoming islanders, were expecting him to die – what a day!
At different moments and times, we all end up in a place called Malta, a place nobody plans to go visit or stay, because it is unknown and we’re usually heading somewhere else in our plans. I have visited Malta several times, in fact, I’m writing from Malta; and let me tell you, the trip is always on a poor timing for my plans. No one intends to spend time in the island and get bitten by a viper as much as I didn’t intend to break my foot, let alone was I expecting more difficulties. But, one thing I’ve learned is God always has a plan for us in Malta. It’s usually a pause and a break from our plans so we can enter into His. Paul was in Malta for three months and this was the purpose God had for him: “When we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.” (Acts 28:10) Read that again: they got all the supply they needed to go forward in Malta.
Malta is not only the place we don’t want to visit. It is also a necessary place to go further in life. The winds may seem to be against us, but they always obey Him. Malta was part of God’s plan for Paul. He finally made it to Rome with all the resources he needed and this is the report of Paul in Rome: “He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!” (Acts 28:30-31) May we seize our time in Malta, in such a way that we can get everything we need for our future!