This is based on an illustration I came across lately…

A lady came repeatedly to her pastor for counseling regarding sins in her life that she couldn’t seem to be rid of. At the end of each counseling session, they would have prayer together and the lady would always pray the same words, “Lord, clean out these cobwebs of sin from my mind.” Finally, after several such sessions and the same repeated prayer the pastor had heard enough. After the lady prayed her prayer yet again the frustrated pastor followed with his own prayer, “Lord, forget the cobwebs—kill the spider!”

How often in our quest for victory do we waste time and energy trying to clean out the cobwebs—the surface, outward symptoms—instead of killing the spider?! We need to deal with the root of the problem which is sin in our lives.