Suggested Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 13:1-6
🔴 A Spider’s Web
Have you ever run into a spider’s web? The sticky, stringy, clear thread that seems to adhere to everything on your body, especially your face???… Trying to peel off its intricate layers is annoyingly cumbersome, and the remaining residue will glimmer in the shining light as evidence of what was left behind. Like spider webs, schemes are woven together to carry out a specific plan; but may have deadly results for the one at the center.
2 Samuel 13:1-6 Recounts the events of a complex web, leaving a lesson to learn about emotional health, faith, belief, and trust.
Amnon “loved” his half-sister Tamar and was so distressed by this “love” that he could not think, eat, or sleep. Left alone, perhaps his lust would have faded, but a friend: a crafty individual, a blood relative with whom Amnon was close to wanted to help him overcome his vexation. (2 Samuel 13:3-4KJV)
Meet Jonadab!
Jonadab is the kind of family member we call when we need something done. The person that doesn’t mind getting their hands dirty and is all too willing to dole out advice. Jonadab didn’t pray to God with Amnon. He devised a plan to get Amnon what he wanted. (2 Samuel 13:5KJV)
When we confide and are vulnerable to people who have revealed their character to us, we give them authority. Let’s be honest; all we want is that person to consign with our current emotional status and tell us how to do something we know we shouldn’t. The “Jonadab” in our life is masquerading as a confidant, and we are AOK with it…..until we are the ones that end up hurt.
Know the Truth
Discerning spirits can pick up on the subtle differences in the roles these people play. Their real motive isn’t rooted in love but destruction, going after the core of a known vulnerability. The Enemy is sneaky and will turn what was intended to be good into evil, leaving a distrust that may take decades to erase, if at all.
Their heart is revealed, and the “Jonadab” may act like a trusted resource but show their opportunistic ways. (Some people enjoy watching others suffer.)
Choose Your Friends
If the people closest to us do not have an intimate relationship with God, a repenting heart, or a desire to do God’s will, they will most certainly destroy what we are trying to build. Let’s look for clues, pray for clarity, and focus on listening to the Holy Spirit. If God has our heart, mind, and soul, we can act with love rather than react out of pain.
This devotional was written by Torrie Slaughter founder of Our Given Purpose®. Edited by Torrie Slaughter in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
© Torrie Slaughter, LLC; Torrie Slaughter Photography, and Our Given Purpose®
Excellent and on point. We need to be mindful of what we share and with whom. Love wins always. Love agape, Mom