Inside God’s Protective Care
Christians facing persecution all over the world have come to rely on the One who sees their danger and can keep them safe. This story took place in the 3rd century in Italy. Endlessly inventive, our God unexpectedly protected his saint with the flimsiest of barriers.
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:1-2 ESV)
A God-Engineered Escape for Felix of Nola
In 250 AD, under the reign of the Roman Emperor Decius, a great persecution broke out against the Christians. By royal decree, every free man and woman within his empire was told to sacrifice to the gods and have their actions witnessed and recorded by government officials. Some believers gave into fear and obeyed. Others refused, defying the Emperor’s command. So Christians began to be arrested by the Romans. Many were killed.
Felix of Nola had already been imprisoned and tortured for his faith once. Yet he would not sacrifice to false gods, even to save himself. Soon, he was fleeing for his life.
Running from some Roman soldiers, Felix spotted a large hole in a stone wall. Temporarily out of the soldiers’ sight, he crawled through the opening, hoping to hide himself. From inside the cave, Felix watched as a spider begin to industriously weave a web across the hole he’d just entered. The Roman soldiers arrived a few minutes later. Spotting the same break in the stone wall, they drew near to Felix’ hiding place. But after seeing the spider’s undisturbed web, the soldiers knew the fleeing saint must still be up ahead and left quickly.
Protected by a Spider’s Web
God has such great style.
No gigantic heavenly hand reached down out of the sky and plucked Felix of Nola out of danger.
Instead, there was just a tiny spider, doing what spiders do. Spinning a web to catch flies. A spider planted by God in the right place, at the right time, in order to save the life of one of His saints.
It sounds like God’s light touch.
I’ve mentioned before that the Lord has a sense of humor. Deceiving heavily armed enemies with a newly formed spider’s web?
Simple, yet wonderfully effective.
A man named Paulinus, a century later, shared Felix’s story and ended with this thought:
“When God helps us, a spider’s web becomes a protecting wall; and without His help, a wall is no more protection than a spider’s web.”
These images came from Pixabay.com.
Resources:
I first heard Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll share this story on one of his radio broadcasts.
Author’s note: Yes, the Catholics canonized Felix of Nola and consider him one of their saints, along with Paulinus. But in the 3rd century, this man didn’t called himself a Catholic. Instead, Felix almost certainly identified himself as simply a follower of Jesus Christ.
The sainthood of Felix of Nola is why believers today can read about the simple but fun way God protected one of his people.
For more details, click on the link below:
Personal insight: I have a slight fear of spiders. So this type of divine help wouldn’t have worked for me. Chances are good that I would have killed my “tiny, God-sent rescuer” before he could spin his web across the opening.
Luckily, I’ve never had to run from Roman soldiers.
