She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13
While studying Fort Ancient, we saw the amazing mounds that were built in Ohio many, many years ago. There was a path through the woods that we were exploring. One of the things that stands out in my memory were the spider-webs! My oldest son was willing to take the lead to plow through them first. What my thoughtful, brave one didn’t realize was that his height allowed him to walk under quite a few, while my false sense of security allowed me to be blasted in the face by an almost imperceptible force of strands!
Chaos ensued. There may have been a few dances done in the middle of the woods where anyone coming upon us could have thought we were somehow doing a dance of ancient times. This wouldn’t necessarily be an issue now because not only is he taller, he’s grown in the way of learning. He now knows to hold a stick up in front of him so that he doesn’t get a face full of spider-webs.
Webs of shame, guilt, condemnation, struggle (and so many more) are all chains that need to be broken in order to take you into freedom. Are you ready for them to fall off? Do you recognize that they’re living somewhere down deep in your soul where you don’t take the time to examine the links that are keeping you from your freedom? They are hidden away from the world and even from your own thought process. They are buried, and until God reveals them, you aren’t even aware they’ve been hindering your process…your greatness.
Don’t you think it’s time we examine those dark areas that aren’t allowing clear thought and freedom? When will they stop being the wall blocking us and become the driving force into breakthrough?
Do you feel my excitement? Are you ready for the journey? Where will it take us? Will we still face the unpleasant experience of a spider-web in our face? It isn’t about the easy sometimes. There may be struggle. Sometimes the pain isn’t when we’re oblivious to the chains that are holding us in place because we don’t understand during that point. All we feel is a discomfort leading to frustration knowing there’s something more but finding it often out of reach. It’s normal…we’re used to them.
Why look for trouble, right? Yet, we can feel SOMETHING that isn’t quite right. We struggle to understand what the problem is, so we can fix it. We seek guidance without direction. We are seeking guidance either without taking account where we started from or without a clear vision of where we’re going.
Life is a journey. What kind of journey we experience is partially up to us. In God’s time, He reveals the areas that are holding us in bondage. Have you asked for that revelation? We think we’re doing well when suddenly we feel like we’re running into a cartoonish spider-web. We can see through, but something is holding us back. We can, with some difficulty, take steps forward, although it clings to us causing a haze over our eyes. We can keep moving; however, it’s hindering our clear direction and we’re fighting those strands that no one else can see.
Then, the revealing takes place maybe even with one word. Sometimes, if you’re like me, you finally catch on that there’s one word being brought up over and over again. I think didn’t I just hear that? Didn’t I just feel that? Didn’t I just get the nudge to buy a book that teaches on that? The revelation begins! I realize that there’s something specific that I need to focus on, work through, and break the strands of the web or links of the chain that slows me down, creating chaos in my life.
My word…shame. What am I feeling shame about? Again, I’m not positive. I’m just starting the journey. I will say that last weekend while sitting around a fire, I shared with my family about my revelation and what’s been bothering me. Did you know that they all admitted to feelings of shame? Is this something that’s more common than I realized?
I believe my shame is the failure of not meeting another’s expectations and internalizing that as a lack on our part. Maybe even more so, it’s a feeling of not meeting our own expectations.
If you’re feeling at all like I was feeling (that sense of uneasiness, lack, uncomfortable frustration, running into cobwebs), I challenge you to seek revelation of the cause. Then, the journey to freedom can begin because knowing can be growing!
The builders of the mounds wanted to be higher and able to see. They wanted to get closer to God and be seen by Him. I asked how it was different than the Tower of Babel. Simple. They just wanted to be seen by God, not get to God. Let me tell you about our God. He is El Roi. The God who sees us. The issue isn’t with getting God to see us, it’s with breaking the chains and removing the webs of shame or whatever is keeping us from seeing God. Our stick to hold in front of us…Jesus. He will break through every barrier and bring to light everything holding us back.
I was taught that too many of us see a web as being a bad thing. If that’s the case, I ask you why are you being the fly instead of the spider? I’ll ask you what was brought to light to me. Why aren’t you seeing a web as a source of protection instead of a trap? Today, be a spider and start trapping instead of a fly getting trapped. Trap love, trap joy, trap peace, trap patience, trap kindness, trap goodness, trap faithfulness, trap gentleness, and trap self-control! Today, trap the devil!
Are you willing to go on this journey with me? I’m not sure what it will entail, but I know it will lead to freedom we’ve never experienced before! El Roi will be with us.