I’m just going to say this at the risk of losing some my audience. I’m not a huge dog fan. “What?” you say. You don’t like dogs. How could not like dogs?

They’re cuddly. They welcome you home after a long day of work. They can even be trained to open the door or get the mail or protect a toddler. 

What’s not to love? Okay, since you ask. Dog’s drool. They bite. They lick you and they smell like the lakes they swim in. There I put it out there. A dog is not this woman’s best friend. 

But, there is one thing I have come to love or at least acknowledge that is good about a dog. It doesn’t matter what I say to our neighborhood dogs, they “shake it off” like water on duck’s back. 

It’s a lesson we all need to learn. When something unpleasant happens, do as Taylor Swift or as one of our family dogs has learned to do– “shake it off.” Is this biblical? I think it is. 

In Acts 28, we read an interesting story about Paul. Paul is on the island of Malta where he encountered some kind people. They welcomed him by building a fire. Paul was gathering brushwood when a snake attached himself to Paul’s hand. The islanders were shocked by the incident, as we all would be, and began to mumble that Paul must be a bad person to attract a snake. But Paul just shook the snake off and he suffered no ill effects. Of course, I’m not saying we shook shake off a snake bite, but the principle here is worthy of noting. 

Most of the time, when we are attacked in some way our humanness gets in the way and we don’t “shake it off.” We let the offending “snake bite” hang around and affect us and, eventually, allow it to cause us to become emotionally sick. In another place in the bible, we read that Jesus told the disciples if they go into a town and are not received well, they should just go to another town. In other words, shake it off and move on. How often are we able to “move on” when we’ve been offended, attacked, or rejected? I can only speak for myself, but this has been a hard one for me to conquer. My personality is a pleaser personality and I do not like it when someone is upset at me for any reason. I have been known to worry and fret over things that had no solid evidence that I needed to waste time worrying and fretting over. I would let that “snake” of a comment or look or no comment or no look affect me way too deeply.  

What I discovered is when I am in a state of “upset over something”, I have a hard time hearing clearly from God.  The “snake bite” takes priority over the voice of God, which is not the way it should be. God has power over every snake bite. God has power over every unpleasant word or action done toward you. God has power over every thought you have and every action you take. Our job is to put our confidence and faith in God, so that His power can lead us. God is bigger than any feelings of insecurity or worry or shame or hurt or division. 

We cannot get away from troubles or troubling people in this life. This world is full of snakes willing to bite and cause you to question yourself, your abilities, and your goals. The next thing you fill threatened in this way, remember Paul and shake that snake off!!