Are You Afraid of Snakes?

Groundhogs are. Especially the young ones. Snakes even go into their burrows. And we know what happens next. I never really understood how snakes can fit so much in their bellies, but they can. Kinda like my dad. According to the Chinese zodiac, my dad was born in the year of the snake. Figures. Just kidding. (Love you, Dad.)

Have you ever thought of the places that act as burrows in your life? Whether it's your prayer time and/or your deep friend time, you should have a place where you feel free to release your feelings and take refuge. You should feel safe. Like a groundhog in its burrow, this is the place you call home.

But what if you aren't as safe as you thought.

Now, hold up. I don't find that very comforting. I started to think about this when I was awkwardly googling groundhogs for inspiration (I never thought I'd write that on the Internet). Wikipedia told me that snakes sneak into the burrows and easily prey on little groundhogs. And their easiest catches are often the youngest. That's logical, but think about it. What snakes are getting into your burrows?

And I never thought I'd ask random strangers that question.

Anyway, snakes get into my burrows often. When I'm with my friends, the snakes come in the forms of jealousy, annoyance, vanity, insecurity and so forth. Although my friends and I grow closer and grow stronger, we still have issues like those because we're human. And that's what humans do. There are also snakes when I talk to God. As much as I'd like to say I'm the perfect Christian, it's not true. I'm still human, and even though I can do all the right things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13), I'm not usually relying on Christ to strengthen me. It's a hard truth, but it's the truth. When I'm praying or just trying to live a life centered on Christ, snakes like doubt, pride, and way too many more keep on getting in my burrow.

So, what do we do about this?

Yeah, that's a hard question. By ourselves, we can't do it. Yes, like young groundhogs, the younger you are (on your journey with Christ), the easier it is for the snakes to enter in. But still, no matter how mature you are in Christ, those snakes are gonna come in. No doubt there. But snakes came into Jesus' burrow too (when He was tempted), but He didn't get eaten by them. He defeated them. That's what we've got to do too. But again, we can't do it alone. So, I conclude with the verse mentioned above:

"I can do all this through him who gives me strength."-Philippians 4:13

And that's why we have to stop fearing those snakes.

Note: Your journey still won't be perfect once you first rely on Jesus, because you're gonna forget to rely on Him sometimes (most of the time). This just means we've got to cry out to God when the snakes start to get us, and then Christ will give us strength and protection from those snakes.