Before the fire, my daughter and son-in-law came to do some deep cleaning. They swept cobwebs out of corners, cleaned away which had been hidden and brought attention to things long forgotten. Yet, even then, some cobwebs seemed to linger unnoticed.
When life suddenly demands attention, usually cobwebs are the last thing on my mind. But, sooner or later, there is a wake-up call, a moment that forces us to look at what shouldn’t still be there.
Emotional cobwebs can remain hidden until something disturbs them. It’s as though a spider quietly spins a web of hurt in the corner of our hearts, layering pain upon pain while we shut off the light and avoid that place. Sometimes it’s a person who should have gone long ago, yet still lingers, cluttering the soul and carrying darkness into spaces meant for peace. Then, very quietly, God begins to work. That was how my week began.
I was preparing for the Bible study on John the Baptist, the one who came to point to Jesus and prepare the way for Him. The theme was transition.
Isaiah wrote of the voice who was coming, and John boldly identified himself as that voice. He understood his role and assignment in God’s economy. There was no resistance in John, just only the humble question: “Are you the one?” Being resolved, he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30, NASB).
He was saying more than that his own influence would lessen. He was announcing the climax of an order and the arrival of something far greater. A transition was coming. He had done what he was sent to do. He was not the bridegroom, but the friend, and now he was handing the bride to Christ. In that moment, he had heard the Bridegroom’s voice, and his joy was fulfilled.
I have settled into roles before, and when it was time to move on, my joy was not so easily fulfilled. It felt as if I had once been in the first chair in the band and quietly moved to the second. Before long, I found myself not even in the band at all. Did I blame the ones who took my place? Yes, probably. Did I blame those who did not recognize my worth? Probably. Did I see it clearly as God’s plan and rejoice? No.
Something triggered an emotional cobweb in me. I had not swept the lingering webs from the rafters of my mind. Yet, I knew something inside had to be made right.
In that moment, the stubborn web found no place in my heart or mind. The weight lifted. And suddenly I saw more clearly why I was where I was, and how to move forward with understanding and purpose.
Just like John, the voice, made room for Jesus, the One who gave His life so that we, His bride, might receive life and make us able to transition into that spiritual place that is meant for us.
Anything of lasting value often starts in a transitional season. We begin something, and someone else may finish it. Sometimes another receives the credit. But that is part of how God works. We are learning to understand how we are made, our design, our place in the chain of progress, and especially our place in the spiritual progress of another heart and in the larger divine picture.
Then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Thy will. He takes away the first in order to establish the second” (Hebrews 10:9, NKJV). This reflects the fading of the old and the coming of the new, the voice giving way to Jesus, the eternal life.
This scripture in Hebrews points to Psalm 40:10 about the transition from the old covenant of law to the new covenant of grace. It reveals how Jesus established the second order.
It is like giving a room to someone who writes a bestseller. Maybe it was our desire to write that book, but that isn’t our job. As they fulfill their mission, soon God takes away the importance of the first in order to establish the second.
The second rests upon the grace that was already laid down in order to accomplish what God called each one to do. What came before was necessary. It gave shape, truth, and footing to what followed. The first role is still important; it simply carries a different blessing.
Final brushstroke: So often, we can’t truly see the corners of the room until the cobwebs are swept down, then we see ourselves. It takes a mature Christian to let go of any offense and let go of the hurt. It also takes the power of the Lord to cleanse the mind and heart in order to take us into the next step of transitioning into something greater.
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