Black Widow

Little brother is quite responsible. That's why I was surprised to hear something that resembled a package falling to the ground. I had taken him to get the mail, and had handed him the package while I finished retrieving the mail. As I turned around, I realized why he had let go of it. A large black widow crawled off the package. Little brother stood to the side while I set about the task of exterminating it. A pile of stones later, we succeeded in killing it and flipping it over. As we noted the red hourglass marking on its belly, I asked God to give me an opportunity sometime to use that experience to communicate a deeper truth.

Later that day, we were informally discussing the story of Genesis 3 and how we should respond to temptations. I looked at the little brother and reminded him of our spider adventure.
"Remember how you immediately threw the spider, along with the package, on the ground? You didn't panic either, you just asked for help. That reminds me that when Satan brings 'black widows' to my life, I shouldn't pity it, but completely 'throw it away'. And I can't 'kill' it on my own either, I need to ask Jesus to help."

Wow. I didn't know how much Satan would throw these "black widows" at me this week. Most of the time it was in the area of thoughts. But every time I've asked Jesus to "kill" them, He has.

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. ~1 John 4:4

What are the 'black widows" in your life?