When Jonah made the decision to flee from God’s call, God did not choose to send someone else. Instead He sends the perfect storm; He employs the wind to bring order out of Jonah’s chaos. By interrupting Jonah’s plans to flee, God is saving him. Like Jonah who slept during the storm in the inner most recesses of the ship, we sometimes need to be awakened from our spiritual slumber. When the storm hit, the crew of the ship knew it wasn’t just an ordinary storm; the strength and suddenness of it was something they had not experienced before. They knew that something or someone had caused this storm to happen. And Jonah knew it too. God saw his repentant heart and He provided an extraordinary rescue.

When Jonah made the decision to flee from God’s call, God did not choose to send someone else. Instead He sends the perfect storm; He employs the wind to bring order out of Jonah’s chaos. By interrupting Jonah’s plans to flee, God is saving him. Like Jonah who slept during the storm in the inner most recesses of the ship, we sometimes need to be awakened from our spiritual slumber. When the storm hit, the crew of the ship knew it wasn’t just an ordinary storm; the strength and suddenness of it was something they had not experienced before. They knew that something or someone had caused this storm to happen. And Jonah knew it too. God saw his repentant heart and He provided an extraordinary rescue.

God sometimes calls His people to assignments that are not always convenient or comfortable. Jonah did not answer God’s call to preach His word to the feared and hated enemy in Nineveh with a resounding, “Yes, send me!” Instead he was silent. Without any arguing or debating, Jonah went to Joppa and got on a boat to go as far as he could in the opposite direction. He chose to blatantly ignore and disobey God. And like it or not, we all have pulled a Jonah in our lives, most likely numerous times. You see, the story of Jonah is really all of our stories. Each of us can look back and see where we have attempted to run from God in one way or another. The good news is that, like Jonah, we can run from God but we can’t outrun God

God sometimes calls His people to assignments that are not always convenient or comfortable. Jonah did not answer God’s call to preach His word to the feared and hated enemy in Nineveh with a resounding, “Yes, send me!” Instead he was silent. Without any arguing or debating, Jonah went to Joppa and got on a boat to go as far as he could in the opposite direction. He chose to blatantly ignore and disobey God. And like it or not, we all have pulled a Jonah in our lives, most likely numerous times. You see, the story of Jonah is really all of our stories. Each of us can look back and see where we have attempted to run from God in one way or another. The good news is that, like Jonah, we can run from God but we can’t outrun God

Once the lie we believed is exposed, we can begin the process of breaking free from the hold it has on us. Getting on your knees before God in prayer and claiming His truth is the only action needed. Your prayer must begin with confessing to God that you believed the lie more than you believed God’s truth, and asking for His forgiveness for doing so. The lie that has kept you bound in chains must then be renounced and rejected in Jesus’ powerful name. This is the action that will kill the spider and remove the cobwebs it created. But, you also must fill the space in your spirit that the lie vacated or the enemy will try to fill it with something else. Ask Jesus to come in to heal and restore this place in you by filling it with His truth

Once the lie we believed is exposed, we can begin the process of breaking free from the hold it has on us. Getting on your knees before God in prayer and claiming His truth is the only action needed. Your prayer must begin with confessing to God that you believed the lie more than you believed God’s truth, and asking for His forgiveness for doing so. The lie that has kept you bound in chains must then be renounced and rejected in Jesus’ powerful name. This is the action that will kill the spider and remove the cobwebs it created. But, you also must fill the space in your spirit that the lie vacated or the enemy will try to fill it with something else. Ask Jesus to come in to heal and restore this place in you by filling it with His truth

God wants to rid you of spiders and cobwebs even more than you do. But, He will not do it without your consent, and you cannot do it without His help. Prayer and the Word of God— these are the two disciplines, or weapons, that you need to use in order to identify and replace the lies with which you made an agreement. When you go to God in prayer, turning down the volume of the noise around you and being still long enough for Him to make His presence and truth known, you will be setting yourself up to hear Him and experience His deliverance. When we ask God to reveal to us the birthplace of our spider, the lie that holds us hostage, He will reveal it to us. He will also point us to the truth in His Word.

God wants to rid you of spiders and cobwebs even more than you do. But, He will not do it without your consent, and you cannot do it without His help. Prayer and the Word of God— these are the two disciplines, or weapons, that you need to use in order to identify and replace the lies with which you made an agreement. When you go to God in prayer, turning down the volume of the noise around you and being still long enough for Him to make His presence and truth known, you will be setting yourself up to hear Him and experience His deliverance. When we ask God to reveal to us the birthplace of our spider, the lie that holds us hostage, He will reveal it to us. He will also point us to the truth in His Word

So many of the struggles we face come from our agreement with the lies the enemy feeds us. Satan watches for moments in our lives when we are open to believing his lies. It may have been something small like a comment someone made about your appearance, or a more traumatic moment, like your parents announcing their divorce. It’s in these kinds of moments that the enemy whispers lies: you’re ugly; you don’t fit in; it’s your fault; and you believe it. When you take the time to recognize the dark deceptions and stop allowing the enemy to have control, you start living your life in the light, without cobwebs and spiders.

So many of the struggles we face come from our agreement with the lies the enemy feeds us. Satan watches for moments in our lives when we are open to believing his lies. It may have been something small like a comment someone made about your appearance, or a more traumatic moment, like your parents announcing their divorce. It’s in these kinds of moments that the enemy whispers lies: you’re ugly; you don’t fit in; it’s your fault; and you believe it. When you take the time to recognize the dark deceptions and stop allowing the enemy to have control, you start living your life in the light, without cobwebs and spiders.