The Spider I've Never Met

      A spider has taken up residence right outside my front dear.  I haven't met him  (or her) but the evidence of its presence is there every morning.  He builds his web every night, and every morning I knock it down.  You would think he would give up and move on to another home; but the spider and I have played this little game for several days now.  

     I know some of us ladies don't even like the idea of being near a spider.  Personally, frogs and lizards usually bother me much more than a spider but I don't want to let this unseen inhabitant in my take over my porch.  So the two of us - the spider and I continue doing what we do.  

     I have to admire his tenacity.  His endurance to persevere.  Now, I don't know if a spider really has that much of a personality.  I think God just made the spider to build a web every day or night.  It is the way spiders survive.  They use their web to trap their prey.  (I know not all spiders build webs; but the large majority of the species do).  
     OK, so why am I talking about a spider so much?  Well, this little adventure made me think about a couple of things.  Truth be told, I have to admire the spider's steadfast efforts.  He hasn't given up.  He keeps working.   He is quite persistent.  
      God encourages endurance -- steadfastness -- determination- persistence -- there are many words for it and the Holy Spirit used several of them in the Bible.  Ladies, we cannot give up.  We have to hang in to there.  
      Here is a great verse I found while I studied for this devotional.  When I read it,  I could not help but think of the way God made the spider.  

      We find these words in Proverbs 24:16. 

"For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity."

       I just love this!  God's people don't give up!  They know God is their strength, and their fortress.  They have a confident and steadfast hope of heaven.  So when life knocks them down... they get back up.  

       There is nothing more courageous than a man or woman of any age to walk into a charge building alone.  I've seen older people who attended worship together for many years.  When one spouse dies, the survivor does not lose their faithfulness.  As sad and as difficult as it might be, their faithfulness keeps them going and they continue to worship with their church family.  

      There is a young lady in our congregation who just graduated from high school in May.  She is the only one in her family who attends services -- and she has done so for a couple of years now.  This girl has so much strength and maturity and faithfulness in her heart.  

     Life is not always easy, but we keep doing what we do because we know it is the right thing to do.  I'm not only talking about going to the church building.  I'm talking about how we live our everyday lives - how we conduct ourselves as Christians.  

     Galatians 6:9 -- "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

     The reward we will reap is heaven.  And it will be worth all the things we go through here -- all the little hiccups and headaches we go through - will be worth it.  But we know sometimes what we endure is not little at all.  It is tragic.  The loss of a spouse (through death or divorce), or a child,  or our financial security, natural disasters, losing our health and independence.... 

       Wow, we go through so much in our lives.  Sometimes we don't know how we will make it.  But what we have to do when life knocks us down is rise again.  Rise up instead of give up.  

       God tells us, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

Christ above all things, 

Robin