Snare-Free!
by Pastor Dan
We are continuing the series of articles from the book of Proverbs in the Bible. They are very practical for our life today even though they were written many years ago.
As a young boy, I had a recurring thought that I needed to find a way to make more money. Now, growing up on the farm, my parents paid me an allowance for chores, but I was only able to use a portion of that money as current spending money. Even though this is not what the article is about, I am thankful for the principles my parents taught me. They gave ten percent of my allowance to the Church and the rest went to savings. That is a whole other story.
I began looking for other ways to make money aside from chores. There were three animals that were a nuisance to our crops and our livelihood, so that was a good place to start: deer, muskrat, and rabbit. Since my mom was not a game meat cook, we would let others hunt them. The rabbit and muskrat could be caught and sold for their fur. Now, you could go shoot the rabbit, but you could get a higher price for them if they had no defects or holes in the fur, so I became proficient at setting traps for the muskrat and snares for the rabbits. I tell you this story to remind you of a life principle that we find in Scripture: “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and his children will have refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.” Proverbs 14:26-27
In a conversation a few months back, I mentioned that “I make no apologies for my world view.” I went on to say that my view is not extremely popular these days because it is based on the written words of God called the Bible. Satan is the expert trapper. Satan does not know your thoughts; only God does. Therefore, all Satan has to do is listen to what you say and watch what you do so that he can set snares that will trap you. Satan’s greater lie is that even when you’re caught in the snare, you will actually be enlightened and more will be revealed to you. Instead, the snare creates a habit that develops, which makes it less noticeable over time.
I remember a number of snares that were set for me early in my life. I loved to play sports but did not have the time to because of farm work. A snare of anger was set for me. Once I was caught in the anger snare, every situation or person that tugged the snare tighter got a response that had another snare connected to it. Satan’s lie was working. I thought I was finally able to tell people how I felt, and they needed to know that, and boy did it feel good! However, there was a problem that started to develop. No one really wanted to be around me, especially if I got angry. What I thought would feel good to me began to hurt me inside.
These verses tell us that there is a snare snipper. The phrase in each verse is “The fear of the Lord.” My testimony is that Jesus came to me when I was caught in my snare and did not just loosen it so I could get out, but He cut it to completely disable its ability to catch me again. “For it is God who delivers you from the snare of the trapper.” Psalm 91:3a
Jesus died on the cross, and when God raised Him to life, every snare that Satan could set for me was broken. Jesus knew that I was still human and would travel that road again, so Jesus gave me His Holy Spirit. Now, when I pass by that broken snare, I remember that it has no hold on me, and I walk another path. The freedom of the other path is the Fountian of Life described in this verse. There is now a place of refuge that gives me confidence that I do not need to travel the same old roads. The word confidence here means trust, refuge, and security through the art of confiding.
Confide in God, and he will help you identify your snares and snip them for you so that you can live a life of freedom.
Blessings to you,
Pastor Dan
We are continuing the series of articles from the book of Proverbs in the Bible. They are very practical for our life today even though they were written many years ago.
As a young boy, I had a recurring thought that I needed to find a way to make more money. Now, growing up on the farm, my parents paid me an allowance for chores, but I was only able to use a portion of that money as current spending money. Even though this is not what the article is about, I am thankful for the principles my parents taught me. They gave ten percent of my allowance to the Church and the rest went to savings. That is a whole other story.
I began looking for other ways to make money aside from chores. There were three animals that were a nuisance to our crops and our livelihood, so that was a good place to start: deer, muskrat, and rabbit. Since my mom was not a game meat cook, we would let others hunt them. The rabbit and muskrat could be caught and sold for their fur. Now, you could go shoot the rabbit, but you could get a higher price for them if they had no defects or holes in the fur, so I became proficient at setting traps for the muskrat and snares for the rabbits. I tell you this story to remind you of a life principle that we find in Scripture: “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and his children will have refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.” Proverbs 14:26-27
In a conversation a few months back, I mentioned that “I make no apologies for my world view.” I went on to say that my view is not extremely popular these days because it is based on the written words of God called the Bible. Satan is the expert trapper. Satan does not know your thoughts; only God does. Therefore, all Satan has to do is listen to what you say and watch what you do so that he can set snares that will trap you. Satan’s greater lie is that even when you’re caught in the snare, you will actually be enlightened and more will be revealed to you. Instead, the snare creates a habit that develops, which makes it less noticeable over time.
I remember a number of snares that were set for me early in my life. I loved to play sports but did not have the time to because of farm work. A snare of anger was set for me. Once I was caught in the anger snare, every situation or person that tugged the snare tighter got a response that had another snare connected to it. Satan’s lie was working. I thought I was finally able to tell people how I felt, and they needed to know that, and boy did it feel good! However, there was a problem that started to develop. No one really wanted to be around me, especially if I got angry. What I thought would feel good to me began to hurt me inside.
These verses tell us that there is a snare snipper. The phrase in each verse is “The fear of the Lord.” My testimony is that Jesus came to me when I was caught in my snare and did not just loosen it so I could get out, but He cut it to completely disable its ability to catch me again. “For it is God who delivers you from the snare of the trapper.” Psalm 91:3a
Jesus died on the cross, and when God raised Him to life, every snare that Satan could set for me was broken. Jesus knew that I was still human and would travel that road again, so Jesus gave me His Holy Spirit. Now, when I pass by that broken snare, I remember that it has no hold on me, and I walk another path. The freedom of the other path is the Fountian of Life described in this verse. There is now a place of refuge that gives me confidence that I do not need to travel the same old roads. The word confidence here means trust, refuge, and security through the art of confiding.
Confide in God, and he will help you identify your snares and snip them for you so that you can live a life of freedom.
Blessings to you,
Pastor Dan
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