You Are Safeনমুনা

A Dangerous Trap 

Have you ever felt trapped?

I recall an instance in seventh grade when I was staying the night with one of my best friends. While we were sitting in his family’s hot tub, he challenged me to see how long I could hold my breath while underwater. Always up for a challenge, I took a deep breath and proceeded to submerge myself.

About thirty seconds later when I decided to come up for air, my head bumped into the hot tub cover that my comedian friend managed to put into place. Even though my head wasn’t underwater, a surge of panicked adrenaline coursed through my veins which allowed me to throw off the cover and my friend who happened to be sitting on top.

Needless to say, that was the last time my “friend” pulled a prank like that.

If we’re all honest, none of us enjoys feeling trapped. Some of us have felt trapped by financial debt. Others have felt trapped in a relationship. Many wake up to jobs they feel trapped by.

There’s another kind of trap many of us have fallen into throughout our lives,

“Fearing people is a dangerous trap…” (Proverbs 29:25 NLT)

The idea here is of a trap that ensnares an unsuspecting animal. We might find ourselves ensnared by the need to always say yes when others ask us to do something. Or perhaps we’re hesitant to speak up on social media due to fear of what others might think of us. There might even be people who evoke a strong feeling of fear or anxiety in us while in their presence.

I’m so thankful for the second half of the verse above,

“…but trusting the Lord means safety.”

This means we place our full confidence in God alone. He’s a safe and secure foundation. God is in the business of setting trapped people free!

When we fear people, we are allowing them to dictate how we feel. This is like putting our confidence in a rickety chair to hold our weight. Sooner or later, we’re bound to let others down or be let down by others.

As our trust in the Lord increases, our fear of people will decrease. Before long, we’ll find ourselves living out these words of David,

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—
 whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
 of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1 NIV)

Prayer…

"Father, we place our trust in You alone. Apart from You, we walk on fragile ground that can give way at any moment. We ask that You drive away all fear of man and unproductive thoughts in our lives. Thank you for preserving us despite the poor decisions we may have made in the past. In Jesus' name, Amen."