web or wall !!!

by ROBERT CLEMENTS

Oh! So very often in times of deep trouble we cry to God to help us through and then stare with disbelief; for instead of sending us a miracle we find something so silly we turn away.

During a battle, a young soldier found himself and his army being soundly defeated by the enemy. He and his comrades hastily retreated from the battlefield in defeat, running away in fear of their very lives. As the enemy gave chase, the young man ran hard and fast, full of fear and desperation. Soon he found himself cut off from his comrades. The soldier eventually came upon a rocky ledge containing a cave. Exhausted from the chase and the knowing the enemy was close behind, he chose to hide there. After he crawled in, he fell to his face in darkness, desperately crying to God to save him and protect him from his enemies. He made a bargain with God. He promised that if God saved him, he would serve Him for the remainder of his days.

When he looked up from his despairing plea for help, he saw a spider beginning to weave its web at the entrance to the cave. As he watched the delicate threads being drawn slowly across the mouth of the cave, the young soldier pondered its irony. He thought, " I asked God for protection and deliverance, and he sent me a spider instead. How can a spider save me?"

His heart was hardened, knowing the enemy would discover his hiding place and kill him. Soon he did hear the sound of his enemies, who were scouring the area looking for those in hiding.

One soldier with a gun slowly walked up to the cave's entrance. As the young man crouched in the darkness, hoping to surprise the enemy in a desperate last-minute attempt to save his own life, he felt his heart pounding wildly out of control. As the enemy cautiously moved forward to enter the cave, he came upon the spider's web, which by now was completely strung across the opening. He backed away and called out to a comrade. "There can't be anyone in here. They would have had to break this spider's web to enter the cave. Let's move on." Years later, this young man wrote about the ordeal. What he observed has stood by many in times of trouble, especially during those times when everything seems impossible:

"Where God is, " he said, "a spider's web is as a stone wall. Where God is not, a stone wall is as a spider's web"

Next time you pray, don't turn away from God's simple solutions…!

(c) Bangladesh Independent