Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Psalm 124:6-8
There is a red-tailed hawk that hunts the fields behind our house. Majestic and confident, with the precision any Air Force pilot would envy, she slowly circles, seeking out any movement below. Any vulnerable mouse or field bird that is not camouflaged well enough will catch her eye. Then, in a flash of a moment, she folds in her wings and shoots straight down, aiming for the victim. Just before her talons stretch out to snare the prey, she pops open her wings and swoosh, up she soars, the helpless victim dangling in her grasp.
Last week, sitting on our back porch we barely heard the swoosh. In a blink of an eye, there she was, and gone was a turtle dove, fat and full from our bird feeder. Someday, she may fall to the snares of a fowler. The predator may become a prey. But until then, she soars free, seeking out her victims.
Christ died for our sins and defeated Satan’s reign. Even though he still roams the earth seeking out vulnerable victims, we have protection from the devil’s snares. We have a warning system, unlike the field mice and turtle doves near my house. We have shelter under the wings of our Lord, as long as we choose to stay there, away from evil and temptations. But when we head out into the open on our own, that is when we can become targeted. The snares are set and often we just do not see them.
But the good news is this – if we do get snared, we can call upon the Lord to rescue us. And, I believe when our loved ones are in danger, even if they have yet to seek His protection, they can be saved from the snares as well. If we cover them with prayer, the snares can be broken.
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