I like spiders. Not in a “I want a tarantula as a pet” kind of way. But in a “I see the value of spiders and they are astounding little creatures that don’t freak me out” kind of way. We’ve raised our kids with this sentiment, so in our house when we encounter a spider, the goal is to successfully relocate the little arachnid to some more suitable outdoor location. Not everyone feels or responds this way to spiders. So…when I was walking down a hallway in our church and saw (for the fourth time) a rather large “giant house spider” just resting there, I decided I had to remove the creature before someone else swatted the poor thing.
I went and got a plastic cup and a piece of paper to catch the spider and release it outdoors in the flower garden. Wouldn’t you know it? When I went to trap the spider, it tried to run away. From the creature’s perspective the large and imposing object presented a threat to its safety. From my perspective, I was providing this spider with a chance to avoid being smashed.
I wonder if the spider’s response doesn’t reflect the way we understand God sometimes. We have a limited perspective, often clouded by our fears and frustrations. We don’t necessarily understand what God is trying to accomplish and even try desperately (at least at times) to find a way out from “under it.” Yet the prophet Isaiah records that God’s ways are not ours and His thoughts are above ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Sometimes I think our struggle with God’s work in our lives is simply a matter of misunderstanding goals. God seems more interested in shaping our character, our inner world, than in getting us to remake the outside world. The “outside” world will get remade, count on it. But that is a creative act of God ultimately, right? Right, see Isaiah 65:17, among other verses. The point is, though, that we are often more interested in fixing circumstance as we see it than receiving whatever gift of transformation God is offering in the moment. He sees the end, we don’t. He sees the impact of the change, on us, on others, on His Kingdom purposes. We don’t, at least not always.
Trust – so central to our walk as Christians – is, at least in part, resting in the reality that God’s perspective is true and good and right, while ours is only partial (at its best). Maybe this is part of what was behind the sons of Korah’s prophetic word, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10).
The spider didn’t know it could trust me to be doing good on its behalf, but we can trust God is doing good on ours.
Pursue Christ – He is enough,
Pastor Jeff