Daily Devotional

Carnivorous plants get their nutrients by luring small animals or insects into a deadly snare. Different trapping mechanisms draw unsuspecting prey into these plants. Pitcher plants catch victims in a rolled leaf with a pool of digestive enzymes. Lobster-pots force prey toward a digestive organ with inward-pointing hairs. Flypaper traps, snap traps, and bladder traps use other means of trapping their prey. 

Darlingtonia californica is a pitcher plant that is also known as the cobra plant or cobra lily. It resembles a rearing cobra and is found in Northern California and Oregon’s boggy areas. The beautiful but deadly plant lures insects into its hood with its colourful leaves and sugary nectar. Once it’s in the hood, the insect falls into a pool of liquid at the bottom of the tube and drowns. 

Solomon once wrote, “The lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death” (Proverbs 5:3–5). His description is similar to that of a carnivorous plant. One Bible char- acter who fits this picture is a woman who drew Samson into an immoral relationship. Her name was Delilah. 

Samson had once again allowed his lustful appetite to lead him away from finding a wife among his own people. “He loved a woman in the Val- ley of Sorek” (Judges 16:4), located near the Philistines. When Samson’s enemies discovered his friendship with Delilah, they bribed her into asking Samson the secret of his strength. Three times she tried to draw the truth from him, until he finally fell into her trap and told her. His mistake led to his death. 

Satan seeks to lure God’s people through deception into snares that separate them from God. When we let go of the Lord, even the strongest become his prey. 

O God, may I never trust in my own strength or wisdom but always lean on Your mighty power.