As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. (Acts 28:3)
According to Acts, this snake attack happened after Paul was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, tried before four different magistrates, extradited to Rome, caught in a hurricane, shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean, threatened with mass execution, and washed onto shore at Malta. When the local people saw the venomous viper attached to Paul’s hand, they expect him to drop dead immediately.
It seems like Paul experienced one tragedy after another in his life (and there are many more he lists in 2 Corinthians 11). Any one of these experiences would have sent many of us into deep depression. But Paul kept plugging away at the mission God gave him because he saw God’s purpose in pain and hardship.
As he explained, “I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:9-10).
Sometimes, God will give you success and comfort in life. Maybe even supernatural visions and revelations like he gave Paul. But sometimes, he’ll give you insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties. People will mock you for your faith and make life difficult for you. There will be natural hardships and difficulties. All of this will make you feel weak in life, but that’s what will make God strong in your life.