There is a question worth sitting with today: Are you being shaped by design or by default? The story of Paul in Acts 28 gives us a powerful picture of what it looks like to walk in purpose, shake off what is holding you back, and be used by God even in your most broken moments.

After surviving a violent storm at sea, Paul and his companions landed on the island of Malta. The native people showed them unusual kindness, building a fire to warm them in the cold and rain. As Paul gathered sticks to add to the fire, a viper came out of the heat and fastened itself to his hand.

The people watching immediately assumed the worst. They called him a murderer. They said justice had finally caught up with him. They waited for him to swell up and die.
But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm.
And just like that, the same people who condemned him changed their minds and said he must be a God.

Paul did not sit there and pray for the snake. He did not try to reason with it or make peace with it. He shook it off into the fire.

There are things in our lives that are not our friends. There are habits, mindsets, and attachments that are biting us and holding on. God is not asking us to coddle those things. He is asking us to shake them off.

This is not about being harsh or unloving. It is about being honest. It is about recognizing what is good and what is evil, and choosing to follow what you know is right.

Some people will have an opinion about your life before they even know you. They will describe your calling, predict your failure, and write you off before you ever get a chance to stand on the other side of your storm.

And here is the hard truth: some of those same people will only show up once you are standing victorious. When you were sinking, they were nowhere to be found. But once you are on the other shore, everyone wants to celebrate with you.

Do not let what people think about you change what you think about yourself. Discouragement has taken out more Christians than the devil ever has.

After Paul shook the snake off, he went on to heal the Father of the island's chief. He laid hands on him and prayed, and the man was healed. The very hand that had been bitten became the hand that brought healing.

This is the pattern of God. He uses broken people. He uses beaten and bruised people. He uses people who have been through storms and come out the other side still standing.

The disciples we look up to in Scripture were not polished and perfect. They were people who had been through real suffering. And yet God used them to change the world.
You can be used as long as you are willing to be used.

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus says something direct and powerful:

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet." - Matthew 5:13 English Standard Version (ESV)

When Jesus called His followers the salt of the earth, He was not talking about table salt. In the first century, salt was so valuable that Roman soldiers were paid with it. Salt was used to preserve meat and keep decay away. It was used as a sign of covenant between two people making a binding agreement.

When Jesus called you the salt of the earth, He was saying: you are valuable, you are meant to preserve what is good, and you are in covenant with Him.

Jesus continues in Matthew 5:14-16:

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 5:14-16 English Standard Version (ESV)

We are not doing this for recognition. We are doing this so that others see God, not us. But it matters who you surround yourself with. When salt loses its flavor, the salt around it is affected too. The people you make part of your life matter.

Your identity in the kingdom of God is not something you pick. It is something you discover. Christ has already set a purpose and an anointing over your life. The question is whether you are willing to walk into it.

When Jesus declared "I am the bread of life" or "I am the resurrection," He was not just making a statement. He was walking in the full identity of who He was. Identity requires functionality. You have to walk in the path of what you are declaring.

Some people will never rise to their calling not because God has not anointed them, but because they are too afraid to take up their cross and die to their flesh. They are too afraid to admit they have sin in their life and need help.

In 1 Corinthians 15:56-58, Paul writes:

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:56-58 English Standard Version (ESV)

Your labor is not in vain. What you put in, God will honor. But you have to be willing to put something in. You cannot expect everything to be handed to you while you hold back the one closet in your heart that you will not let Him into.
He does not care about the rest of the house. Open the closet.

Yes. Absolutely yes.
We walk into church on Sunday mornings and act like everything is fine. But the truth is, we all have sin. We all have struggles. And the church is supposed to be a place where we can be honest with each other and build each other up, not beat each other down.
If we are willing to be real with each other, we can get through this together. We are not called to be weak. We are called to be steadfast. And that starts with honesty.

This week, identify one thing in your life that you have been holding onto instead of shaking off. It might be a habit, a fear, a relationship, or a mindset that you know is not from God. Make a decision to shake it off and take one concrete step toward walking in the purpose God has already placed on your life.

Ask yourself these questions as you go into the week:

• Am I being shaped by God's design for my life, or am I drifting by default?
• Is there a "snake" I have been tolerating that I need to shake off into the fire?
• Am I letting what others think about me keep me from stepping into what God has called me to?
• Is there a closet in my heart that I have not let God into yet?
• Am I being salt and light in my community, or have I lost my flavor?

God used a bitten, storm-worn, falsely accused man to bring healing to an entire island. He can use you too. You just have to be willing.