The Test of Your Faith that Will Drive Out Your Demons
“When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand” Acts 28:3.
This passage describes the apostle Paul and his companions reaching the island of Malta after being shipwrecked. The natives of the island show them kindness by building a fire. However, when Paul gathers wood, a viper comes out of the fire and attaches itself to Paul.
Scripture often has a literal and a figurative meaning. I want to focus on the figurative meaning of the viper coming out of the fire. To read the passage for context, click here.
The Test of Your Faith that Will Drive Out Your Demons
It’s the fire or heat that drove the viper out. Fire represents trials or the testing of our faith (1 Peter 4:12). Or an experience that contradicts God’s promise to us. And vipers (or snakes) represent demons, or the devil (Genesis 3: 1).
So, metaphorically then, we can say that it’s the testing of our faith by trials that delivers us from our demons. We become perfect and complete lacking nothing by enduring trials that test our faith.
In other words, we get delivered of our sin, weakness, immaturity or our demons by going through the fire.
Demons Can’t Take the Heat
Another way to see this is that God is a fire (a consuming fire, Hebrews 12: 29). And if He indwells us by His Spirit, we will be exorcised of our demons, weaknesses or immaturity. That’s because demons can’t take the heat. And He only indwells us as we die to sin.
James 1: 2-4 says “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”.
In other words, when we go through things that seems to be a contradiction of God’s promise to us, we are faced with a decision: We can either believe the message of our circumstances or the message of God’s word.
Faith Reveals Itself in Patience or Endurance
If we choose to believe God’s word in spite of our circumstances that seems to contradict it, we are proving that we have faith. Faith reveals itself in patience or endurance.
It’s by this faith that we get the Holy Spirit. And it’s His presence that makes “us” complete and mature. This is essentially the same as being delivered of our demons.
Here’s the progression: Testing of our faith> Endurance (proof of faith)> Holy Spirit (God is a consuming fire)> Mature, complete (demons are driven out).
To read another post related to see How to be Blessed with Every Good Thing.