Power of One

Nobody . . . knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all.⁵ 

One gray spider, endowed with wit and equipped with hairy legs and spinnerets, saves a pig. She brings glory to the farmers and creates her magnum opus, her egg sac. Unsung, she carries through despite obstacles (wobblestacles), true to  her promise to Wilbur.

Consider the roll call of Old Testament heroes who stayed true and carried through. God used the power of each one of these men and women to execute His plan of salvation through time and circumstance, heroic figures like Abel, Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, David, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, and Amos. 

In the New Testament, we encounter the courage and obedience of Mary, mother of Jesus, as well as Peter, Paul, Stephen, Lydia, Phoebe, and many others. The apostles Peter and John, who had been performing signs and wonders and causing multitudes to believe, provoked the jealousy of the religious leaders and were thrown into jail. After an angel orchestrated a jailbreak, the apostles began teaching and confronting the Jews for the murder of Jesus. Enraged, the religious rulers conspired to put them to death. But Gamaliel stood up. In the book of Acts we read that the Pharisee Gamaliel, “a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people” (Acts 5:34), defended the apostles and persuaded the religious leaders not to kill Peter and John; otherwise, Gamaliel said, they might be fighting against God Himself! 

Jesus is the Son of God. One person. The one person who completely submitted Himself to the Father’s dangerous mission to save fallen humanity. He took the sins of the whole world and smashed the power of the devil, sealing his doom when He cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). The risen Christ’s very Spirit lives within each believer. We are not grasshoppers as the shy Israelites thought of themselves when they refused to go into their promised land. We are anointed, empowered, and equipped to stand for God and against evil. 

Prayer: I give You all that I am to do whatever You want me to do, in Your power and for Your glory alone. Refresh and empower my vision of what Your will.