Skip to main content

My Life As A Spider


Stupid spider!

The one I am referring to had been spinning a web between the side view mirror of my car and the driver’s side window for most of the summer.

Whenever I rolled down the window, the web collapsed.  Whenever I drove the car, the web would get shredded by the air flow alongside the car.

Spiders eat the insects that get stuck in their web.  I kept wondering how in the world this one could survive?  After all, no web, no insects, no dinner!

On top of that, why couldn’t the spider figure out the futility of spinning its web in such a bad place?  Ok, so spiders may not be stupid, but they probably can’t think or assess a situation to make it better.  If they could, this one should have figured it out long ago that it just wasn’t working. 

Hmm, sounds a bit like me!  At times, I live in my own little world, oblivious to the bigger things going on around me…

The Lord spoke to Job after he and his friends pontificated on all they thought they knew about God and His dealings with man:  “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and make you make it known to me.  Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Tell me if you have understanding”.  (Job 38:4)

There are things I don’t understand and really can’t understand.  Does this mean I give up trying?

The Psalmist wrote:  “O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.  But I have calmed and quieted my soul… 

It sure looks like I shouldn’t be overly occupied with things that are beyond me.  Instead, I should calm and quiet my soul and let God be God.

And I certainly shouldn’t be very spider-like either, that is, repeatedly spinning a web only to have it collapse or be shredded by the wind! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can't Get No Satisfaction

One of the songs that were popular in my youth was not particularly upbeat or helpful but it probably did express some of the angst of my generation.  It was not one that particularly resonated with me but as I recently read the book of Haggai, it did come to mind, well, at least some of the lyrics did.  It was the Rolling Stones song with the lyrics “I can’t get no satisfaction”.  Take a look at the chorus of that bleak song:   I can't get no satisfaction; I can't get no satisfaction; Gonna try and I try and I try and I try; I can't get no - I can't get no –   Now take a look at Haggai 1:6 – “ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” It sure sounds like the people of Judah couldn’t get any satisfaction with the things of life that normally should have brought some type of s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hide Not...

Over the centuries, the words have brought great comfort and encouragement.   The words are often used as a benediction or a blessing:   The Lord bless you and keep you: The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.   (Num 6:24-26)   What in the world is a countenance?  By definition, it is a person's face or facial expression. So if the Lord’s face shines upon us and if He lifts up His countenance upon us, what does all that mean? It means that He is giving us His attention.  But even more so, His face shining upon us gives us t he picture of a beaming face like that of a parent for their beloved child.  And the reference to Him lifting up His countenance points to God extending divine favor and peace to us. Sometimes we can appreciate things more by seeing opposites.  The opposite of a lifted face is a face that has fallen, perhaps because of sham...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Fewer, the Better and the Simpler, the Better!

Sometimes, the fewer the words, the better…  Many would probably argue that the most important words in the English language, when strung altogether in the right order, are just three simple words.  And each of those three words is just a one syllable word.  So, not only the fewer the better but also, as a bonus, the simpler, the better! Oh, the three words…they are “I love you” – few, simple and altogether meaningful!      God used them to encourage His people, the people of Israel :  “You are priceless to me. I love you and honor you. So I will trade other people for you. I will give up other nations to save your lives.” (Isa 43:4) The significance of the words “I love you” is inestimable, especially when used in a way that communicates value and commitment And when you look at Jeremiah 31:3, you see a past tense of those words so that “I love you” is “I have loved you”.  But that’s not all that the verse says, the “I have loved y...
Post a Comment
Read more