To Be Set Free

I was walking our dog when thoughts of fish came to mind.  We were walking around a little lake near my home.  It’s filled with fish in the water and birds nesting on the banks.  I love this little lake with trees overhanging and a variety of flowers in all colors.

As I continued to contemplate fish, thoughts suddenly went to the sea and fishermen casting their nets, catching cod and haddock and plaice.  Once caught, these larger fish rarely escape; however, the smaller ones often slip through the net and back to freedom.

My next thoughts were of us humans.  We can so easily get caught up in the snares, traps, and nets of this world that would lure us into false peace and hope.  We only have to turn on the television news to see reports of robberies, murders, crimes committed under drug and alcohol influence, stories of loneliness.  All of these people who find themselves on such dark paths got caught in nets of destruction.  They swam too close to traps that promised riches but instead sent them spiraling into despair.

None of us are beyond getting caught in such traps.  We all like the allure of riches or an easy way out of some dilemma.  If we are promised that we can forget our troubles even for a short time, the temptation to follow that path is strong; we don’t even suspect that a net is set to catch us at the end.  This snare seeks to rob us of inner peace, kill all hopes of joy, and imprison us forever, making it impossible to know true happiness and freedom again.

Good news — no one has to get caught, and if already entrapped, there is a way for anyone to slip through the net.  A path of peace and joy, offering hope to all, awaits.  God has a way that is literally out of this world.  It’s a plan He has already made for every person.  The blueprints for our lives are kept safe in the heavenly places.  Paths to led us to hope and peace is ours for the asking, and God will not refuse anyone.

Are you caught in a net?  Call out for God to reach down and pull you to safety.  He gives everyone free choice.  He won’t force you to get on the path of His wonderful and perfect design.  No one has to take the peace that passes all earthly understanding, but it’s freely available to all.  It’s a unique path full of adventure but not exempt from trials and temptations.  Even so, it’s a path that promises to give us everything needed to keep well away from the snares of this world that seeks to destroy us.  God loves us so very much that He promises to be our everything to get us through anything — always.

“We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap.  The trap is broken, and we are free!  Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  Psalm124:7-8