I got an arachnidism on my finger this week. Or you could just say, I was bitten by a spider, but I learnt a new word so, there you go. In the first instance I had an extreme wave of nausea. This was followed by feeling like I’d got a graze on my finger. It wasn’t until the next morning that I could clearly see two marks where the fangs had pierced my skin and to the side a small sac of venom. Nice.

The kids were momentarily excited to see if I would develop any super-spidey powers. They soon realised having an arachnidism isn’t much fun because the thing about venom is that it’s not good for you. It’s poison. And no one wants a pool of poison hanging out underneath their skin.

I’ve had a front row seat as my wound has festered and grown. The venom is eating away at my flesh and causing a hole to appear in my finger. I relate to Psalm 38 in a whole new way, “my wounds fester and are loathsome… my friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds” (v5,11 NIV). No more hand holding for me.

I am now on antibiotics. But caring for my festering wound isn’t over yet. I need to keep the injury clean, take my medicine, and guard against further infection.

Like spiders, snakes are known for their venom. And we all know that satan was first depicted as a serpent. The devil is slithering around eager to inject his venom into you. To see the effect of sin take root and slowly erode and poison you. To take what was once healthy and contaminate it so that you experience pain, lose what is good and are left on a slippery slope towards isolation, pain and ultimately, death.

David’s complaint about his wounds in Psalm 38 are because of his sin. It is because of his sinful folly that they fester. Our sin will destroy us. And yet, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV).

Don’t leave the poison of sin in your life untreated. Clean the wound through confession and repentance and allow the balm of Jesus’ forgiveness to cleanse you and completely restore you.