I watched a spider climb up the wall;
I watched to see if he would fall.
He climbed the wall looking so confident,
I made up my mind he had to be sent.
He was enthusiastic and he didn’t shirk,
As out on the ceiling he began his work.
I watched more closely for quite a while,
Then, I couldn’t help it, I had to smile.
For that spider had taught me a thing or two,
To him it was the same thing nothing new.
I discovered he worked with such confidence,
Even though to others it made no sense.
His orders received from the One Who sent him,
And I watched that spider ‘til my eyes were dim.
Enthusiastically, faithfully, he made a name;
“Dear Lord,” I said, “Help me to do the same.”
My grandfather led his life with asking God to lead him. He was never afraid to do his Father’s will. God led him through his life and because of this he was a happy and blessed man. His poem about the spider showed me this was so. When God directs and leads, He never leaves us alone nor bumbling about wondering what we should do.
God points the way and then lays each step out just as if we were walking across a stream on smooth rocks.
Hebrews 10:38 tells us, “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” We often hear the first part of this verse and it is so powerful as we walk this world and sometimes wonder how we will make it. If we are living for God and following Him then we can live by faith. How often we fail to see the contrast. If we fail to live by faith, if we fail to trust in His unwavering promises, God will not have pleasure in us. To me, this also means, we will have no peace. How do people live with no peace?
When we moved to Florida, we stepped out by faith believing that God had something for us in Florida and we knew that He would not ever disappoint. How did we get over the sadness of leaving a beloved church family in Iowa? “The just shall live by faith….” God had promised to never leave us nor forsake us, right? So why not follow Him?
He is faithful that promised and we know that He is working all things together for our good.
We may not see it at the time but He can be trusted! So in following by faith we can then trust God fully. In trusting God fully, He, in turn, will give us many delights. I love this verse in Psalm 37:4, “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Obviously, this doesn’t mean if we desire a million dollars, He will give it to us.
For me, this verse says, if we are delighting in God we won’t desire that million dollars but will desire to be in His will. As we draw closer to God, our desires change and they become less earthly and more eternal. For me, I delight to be in the center of God’s will and this move showed me that no matter how painful leaving Iowa was; being here in Florida is beautiful because we are in His will.
When we have faith in God and we trust Him to lead us in the way.