My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare. Psalm 25:15 NIV
When I was a very young teen, I went bird hunting for quail with my Dad. We were walking through an orange grove in which their branches would hang low touching the ground. We saw a bird flutter underneath one tree. My Dad asked me to step back. I continued to watch the bird and said,”Something’s not right, I think he is trying to get away.” My Dad told me to back away from any danger of the shotgun as he fired.
My job was to retrieve the birds that we shot. I went to the tree and pulled back the branches to pick up the bird. There was a problem. He was lying dead in a bird trap cage.
Many struggles come into our lives. Like the bird we can sense impending fear that something might happen. But the bigger issue is that we are already trapped in another problem that we are unwilling to deal with.
The fact that we are weak and fall into deception is not the real issue. The truth is that all of us have gone astray. Getting out of the snare is the key so that we can live in true freedom.
How do you stay free from becoming entangled and/or how do you break free from the trap?
- Start with becoming humble to own up to your failure with God. He loves to help those who are honest.
- To stay out of a trap, follow the simple commands that serves as danger warnings. “Flee youthful lust”. “Set no wicked thing before your eyes.” “Better for a man not to touch a woman.” “Don’t envy your neighbors stuff”, “Forgive, instead of holding a grudge.”
- Go back out the door of the trap. It may look closed, but it brings clarity of your thoughts going in. Repentance is acknowledging your wrong thinking that made you step into the trap. You can’t go back in time. But you can dialogue with God on the path you were on that led you to fail in order to move forward.
- God is bigger than any snare. You may have some nicks and bruises from your experience, but God has redemptive purposes for things that we see as broken beyond compare.
God told us to consider the sparrow that He takes care of its needs…you are more valuable than the birds of the air. Receive hope today, God has an endless supply for those who look to Him.
Blessings Love y’all