Friday, February 17, 2017

When We Are Trapped

“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 4:16-21 NIV)

I wrote yesterday about the devil’s desire to trap us and devour us.  So what happens if indeed we become ensnared in his trap?  Is our fate hopeless?  Thankfully, because of Jesus, it is not.  He came to set us free and indeed He can do it.  But there is one caveat: we must walk out of the trap once it is opened and its hold on us is removed.  

This seems very simple and straightforward, but it is more complicated once we begin to drill down into the details.  Like a woman trapped in domestic abuse, just because people are given a way of escape doesn’t necessarily mean they will take it.  Fear of the unknown often keeps them in the trap.  It is convoluted thinking, but the devil is an expert at exploiting it.  

The abused woman may desperately want out, but the questions arise: Where will she go? How will she protect herself?  What about the lost income that provides security?  Maybe she even questions whether she even deserves anything better.  So the fear and uncertainty of the unknown provides a rationale to stay in the trap.  The door has been opened, but walking through it becomes a fearful prospect.  So she remains.  

The same is true of others similarly trapped—the one in a relationship with an unbeliever, the one who is in bondage to an addiction, the one who is in a toxic friendship, or the one who continues to pursue satisfaction from worldly sources and continues to come up empty.  The rational thing to do would be to take the way of escape, to get out before we are destroyed.  But the comfort of the familiar and the fear of the unknown often keep us in captivity.  It is an instinctive response that needs to be overcome.

The trap we are in is leading to our destruction.  Jesus is providing us a way out.  Can we know or predict what will happen next or even further down the road?  No.  But the fear of the unknown can be overcome by trusting the One who loves us more than any other.  He will not leave us or forsake us. In whatever awaits us outside the trap, we can be assured we will not face it alone.  

Today, if you are in a trap set by the devil, be assured there is a way out.  Jesus can set you free.  And if the uncertainty that exists outside of that trap scares you, put aside your fears and trust Him.  Not only will He lead you to freedom, He will remain with you whatever comes next. You will be okay, and much better off, no matter what you now imagine.

© Jim Musser 2017

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