Spiders, Blow Torches and Peacefilled Prayer

A Seattle man recently noticed a spider in his laundry room and decided to teach it a lesson it would never forget. The man grabbed a can of spray paint and a lighter. He lit the lighter, spraying the paint over the open flame, creating a homemade blowtorch. The man turned the blowtorch on the spider, ending its modest, laundry room existence. In killing the spider, the man also set the laundry room wall on fire, eventually burning his house down. True story.

How many of us have had a similar experience in our spiritual lives? We come across a real problem and decide to teach the problem a lesson it will never forget. We take matters into our own hands and do everything we can to fix it in our own power. Our solution ends up starting a fire that makes the situation way worse.

The Apostle Paul tells the early church to avoid this all together. Paul tells the church to attack life’s problems by first giving them to Christ in prayer. Paul writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It seems that asking God for help with life’s problems gives us a peace that better equips us for solving life’s problems.

As you go through the coming week, put the blowtorch down and spend some time in prayer. Take your problems (big and small) to Christ. Ask the Lord for peace, wisdom and guidance in dealing with life’s very real challenges. As you do, you will find effective ways for dealing with spiritual spiders. You’ll also solve problems in ways that don’t burn the whole place down.