Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
Psalm 31:4 (NKJV)
Thought for Today: My friend Bob was an avid scuba diver. Although advised against doing so, he often went diving by himself. One day, while trying to surface, Bob could not move in any direction. Looking around, he found that his tank had been caught on a net, likely placed by lobstermen trying to prevent a diver from stealing from their traps. Without thinking, and with no thought of stealing, Bob had inadvertenly swam too close to the traps. Not having a diving buddy, he was left in a dreadful predicament which could have a very bad outcome.
What have you become caught up in? It could be any number of nets laid out by the enemy of your soul: sin, pride, envy, greed to name a few. Indeed, it is not hard to become entrapped in a pattern, engulfed in our circumstances or to live in a state of self-deceit, even when we never had any intention of getting trapped in the first place. When the psalmist writes of a net secretly laid out for him, that is exactly what the enemy does. In subtle ways, we become trapped in a net that does not let us move in any direction spiritually. Like a fly trapped in a spider's web, we become stuck, unable to grow, unable to find our way to freedom.
How did Bob manage to free himself? He was able to very carefully cut the net from around his tank with his knife, surfacing just as his air was about to run out. What can we learn from Bob's experience? First, don't go in the water alone! Find another Christian to walk alongside you, one who can point out that you are caught and can help to free you. Secondly, keep a sharp knife with you at all times: God's word. Through prayer and study of God's word can we become freed from all nets set out to ensnare us.
Heavenly Father, we so often become entangled in sin, consumed by our circumstances that we lose site of You. Help us to see that only You, through the power of Your word, can free us from the entrapments of this life. In Jesus' name we pray.
