A Spider’s Web

My heart was heavy laden. I went out to be alone with God and to seek His council. It was dusk.
Tilting the Bible to catch the fading light, I fanned the pages of the New Testament. The pages came to rest and my eyes fell upon these words from Paul:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10-11

The light of day all but gone, I now closed my Bible. While thinking about Paul’s words, I CONSIDERED a nearby light. There surrounding the light, betrayed by the countless, glistening droplets of water left behind by an evening shower, was a spider web. The spider had picked its spot well, I thought. What better place to catch insects than near the one thing which draws insects best, a light. Throughout the night, the same scene would be enacted over and over again. An unsuspecting insect would fly out of the darkness toward the light and then all of a sudden become a late night snack or tomorrow’s breakfast.

Seeing that, I CONSIDERED how this is also true for those seeking to live the Christian life. CONSIDER how around every good deed Satan has spun a web. Every time someone seeks to come from the darkness and walk closer to the light, an evil web has been spun. Webs of discouragement, mistrust, faltering faith, worry, pettiness, fatigue, jealously, despair . . . the strands are many, and the web is strong.

Experiencing first hand Satan’s web, Paul admonishes us “to be strong in the Lord,” for this is the only power stronger than the strands of the web. CONSIDER now how we need to put on the “whole armor of God,” so that we can reach the light, and in so doing be able to do the good works God has called us to do.

For this reason, take up the full armor of God . . . by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:13-18)

Rev. Wendell Mettey
Revised 3-18-2013

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