Helpful Bible Verses

I was spending some time in the woods today, and it struck me how much Satan resembles a spider.  He silently spins a web of temptation and then just waits for us to fly into it.  He cunningly hides his web in a place where we can't see the strands, and then just waits...days, or weeks, or perhaps even years.  But when the moment is right, when we are caught fast in a struggle against our inner desires, he swiftly comes and injects his venom into us.  As soon as we hit that web, we start fighting and trying to yank ourselves out.  But the harder we fight to break free from the sticky strands of his snare, the more we simply shake the web and alert the spider of our presence.  And his venom...Oh, how much like a spider's venom it is!  It hollows out our insides, leaving a withered, dried out husk.  Lust sucks us dry, until all that is left is an empty shell of what we once were. 

But another thing struck me as I was in the woods watching a spider's web.  The translucent web may be nearly invisible in the shadows.  As long as the web remains safely tucked away in a dark place, unsuspecting prey continue to fly into it.  But what makes the web visible is the light.  A ray of sunshine bursting through the trees will make a web sparkle.  A beam of light from a lamp exposes the vile trap for what it is, and the spider goes scurrying away to hide itself.  As long as we keep Satan's web of temptation safely tucked away in the dark corners and deep gloom, we will continue to fly into it.  But God is light (1 John 1:5), and his word is a lamp (Psalm 119:105).  We are commanded to "take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them," (Ephesians 5:11).  Shining the light on Satan's web destroys its power.  This means exposing the sin for what it is and removing all deception.  We must tell the truth to our spouses, to accountability partners/groups, and, most of all, to ourselves.