Rattlesnakes And Your Faith

Beware of rattlesnake sign
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Last time I checked there weren’t baby rattles on the hiking trails.

Snakes are gonna happen in life. Some real ones, some metaphoric ones, and some that are dressed up looking slick, inviting and not slithering. At least not on the ground. These are snakes that masquerade as an angel of light. Seductive, attractive but will take your soul to hell and back.

Sometimes you’re just minding your own business and ‘Boom!.’ There it is in your face; a snake. This would be precisely what happened when Doug and I were on a hike.

Missing The Warning Signs

We are adventurous and maybe a tad naive about the signs warning us of rattlesnakes. We tend to venture off trail and want to explore a little.

This particular day my husband wanted to step up just a little on a rock to peer over to see if there was a grand view, turns out it wasn’t so grand.

I was thrilled to have stayed 5 feet behind him for him to let me know if it was worth the extra 5 feet I would’ve needed to move to enjoy the view.

See how athletic I am?

I will hike 3 hrs. straight on some tough trails but this particular morning I just wasn’t feeling, “The adventure.”

Doug on the other hand is my curious cat always ready for an adventure.

Doug steps back down and as He does that infamous rattle sound got his full attention especially since it was about 5-7 feet from where He stepped. If You know anything about Rattlesnakes I think protocol is to stop and not move quickly, but being the brave soul I am, I run away leaving my husband to be eaten by a Python.

So, yeah it was a python in my mind.   And poisonous.

Doug called me back and I slowly peered about 10 feet from where they were.  Yes, you read that right. They.

Sometimes, there is “a” snake in your life and then other times there are multiple snakes you need to rid yourself of.

There were 5 rattlesnakes together warning us to stay back.

Grateful

As we walked the opposite way of the snakes, we were both so grateful how The Lord had protected us and didn’t allow Doug to step on them and get bitten.

I began speaking the word over us as we continued our hike.

Luke 10:19
I have given you authority to trample over snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing by any means will harm you.

Revelation 12:11
And They overcame him (that sneaky snake) by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives even to the death.

Here’s one more…

2 Timothy 1:7
God hasn’t given me the spirit of fear but of power of love and of a sound mind

I’m walking and praying, stepping and looking, hiking and stumbling. I’m not the most graceful person. Only person I know who stumbles on the flat spots of the hike and nearly busts it. In the past I’ve been graceful enough to fall “up” stairs.

Such is life and that’s me.

Prayer Time

Reminds me of my spiritual journey many times. As I’m on my prayer walk after the rattlesnake encounter scares the bejeezers out of me,I realize how we pray hard and fervent when we are uncertain and very afraid.

But there are times we pray just as fervently when we don’t encounter snakes, we just tend to pray more fervently when we are afraid or unsettled. The key is trusting the power of that spoken word of God over our lives reminding us that God has got us. His immense love protects us and preserves us.

His word coming alive as we speak. running down into our soul like rushing water. Awe the sweet, refreshing, immersing of what He whispers to us no matter what kind of snakes we are facing in life.

I do, however like to look at the beauty of surroundings and surreal moments in life over being preoccupied with snakes. Isn’t this what draws God’s heart?

May we be preoccupied with worship over worry ,with how good He is rather than those pesky sneaky snakes.

Today be immersed and surrounded with the beauty of his love and the rushing water of his word.

What do you think?  Leave me a comment below.

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