JESUS SAID, “IN this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV). No matter who we are, trouble is something we all face. We’re either going through it, have been through it, or will face it. The question is, what do we do when things don’t go the way we hoped?
When I first started coming to Rhema, I thought, “If I just get strong in faith, I’ll never have trouble.” But what I learned is, while we don’t reach a point where we never have trouble, we can reach a place where trouble doesn’t have us. As Charles Swindoll said, “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.”
Even in the most hopeless situations, things can change. A good example is in Acts chapter 27. The Apostle Paul was being taken to Rome by ship. Despite his warnings, the crew sailed into a violent storm. Wind and waves battered the ship, and they hadn’t seen the sun or stars for days.
The 276 people on board had lost all hope—except for Paul. Paul reassured them, telling them that God had promised they would all survive, though the ship would be lost. He said, “So, dear friends, take heart. I believe God will do exactly what he told me” (Acts 27:25 MSG). After two weeks of stormy weather, the ship broke apart on the island of Malta, but everyone made it safely ashore.
What do you do when you survive the storm but your boat breaks apart—when your world or something in your life breaks apart? Paul was in that situation, and what did he do? He grabbed a piece of broken ship and swam to shore.
God told me, “As long as you don’t let go of what you still have, you will make it.” You may not have everything you thought you would have. But as long as you still have a piece of it, you can make it. God doesn’t need what you don’t have. All He needs is what you’ve still got. And if you hold on to that, you’ll make it.
When Paul and everyone else reached the island, it was rainy and cold—not a fun situation. But Paul didn’t give up. He believed God. As he helped build a fire, a poisonous viper came out of a bundle of sticks and bit his hand. The people around him thought it was a sign that he was being punished. But that’s how the world thinks. We should never let what people think about us change what God says about us.
The Bible says, “Paul shook the snake off into the fire like it was nothing” (Acts 28:5 MSG). Later, Paul went to the house of Publius, the governor of Malta, whose father was very sick. Paul laid his snake-bitten hand on the older man, and the power of God healed him. Not only was he healed, but God used Paul to heal all the sick people on the island.
You might be going through trouble you didn’t expect. Maybe you never imagined you’d be where you are in life right now. But don’t focus on what’s wrong. Grab hold of what you still have, swim for shore, and use your “snake-bitten” hand to help someone else. God’s power won’t just bring you through—it’s going to start a revival where you are.
The devil wants you to believe it’s over. But God is giving you a new beginning. It’s not just about you making it—it’s bigger than that. It’s about the will of God working through you. The devil isn’t really after you; He’s after the will of God being fulfilled through you. If you’re in a storm, whether you caused it or someone else did, don’t give up. God can turn what was meant for your destruction into a story of deliverance.
[Editor’s Note: Lois Taucher is a founding member of the evangelistic team Shekinah Glory. This article was adapted from Lois’ message at Campmeeting 2024.]
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Lois Taucher
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