Stop Cleaning Cobwebs: Beyond Quick Fixes to Real Freedomნიმუში

Things are not always as they seem.

Carlos Whitaker knew this reality intimately. From the outside, everything looked perfect in Carlos’ life. He was a successful worship leader, working at large churches. He signed a recording contract and embarked on a nationwide tour. He found fame online through his blog and social media posts.

But things were not as they seemed online.

Behind the scenes, Carlos was battling massive anxiety and struggling with panic attacks. His marriage was marked by emotional infidelity, and he was desperately trying to hold it all together.

One day, it all came crashing down as the truth came out. His wife separated from him. He thought his family was gone forever, and that his life was over.

Several years later, a Christian counselor sent Carlos to a seven-day treatment center—a year's worth of therapy would be compressed into one week. While driving there, he remembered he'd have to give up his phone for a week, so he called his parents so they wouldn't worry.

His father is Fermín Whitaker, an evangelist and influential Christian leader. During that phone call, Fermín said, "Carlos, I have a story to tell you." Carlos encouraged his dad to hurry up as he was close to the treatment center!

Fermín said, "Son, when I was a pastor first beginning in Panama, I was giving a revival one night, and I preached my heart out. This woman named Mrs. Ramirez came down the aisle and asked, 'Pastor, would you please pray that God would clean the cobwebs out of my life?'"

Pastor Fermín prayed for her, and Mrs. Ramirez went home. The second night, he preached again, gave an invitation, and Mrs. Ramirez came down the aisle again with the same request: "Pastor Fermín, would you please pray that God would clean the cobwebs out of my life?"

He prayed for her again. Third night, the same thing happened.

Finally, Pastor Fermín stopped her and said, "We are done praying that God cleans the cobwebs out of your life. Tonight we're praying that God kills the spider."

Then Pastor Fermín told his son, "Carlos, I have watched you for your whole life become a professional cobweb cleaner. You project a picture for the world, while there are big, hairy spiders hiding in the shadows. If you're going to this week-long therapy program, don't go to clean out the cobwebs. Go to kill your spider."

When I shared this story with my church several years ago, you could hear a pin drop. As I shared Carlos’s story in a sermon series inspired by his book, 'Kill the Spider,' it was as if God turned on a massive spotlight in our lives, shining into places where people have been struggling for years without finding freedom.

The central idea we explored in that sermon series is the same one I want to explore with you here: We settle for cleaning cobwebs when God has the power to kill spiders.

Have you been struggling with the same things for years or decades? Have you settled for less than Jesus intended for you? Jesus didn’t die so you could cope. John 8:36 and Galatians 5:1 boldly declare that Jesus took our place and died, so we could be free!

Tomorrow, we'll explore what cobwebs and spiders actually are, and why the difference matters for your freedom.