Monday, July 25, 2016

Escaping Snares and Cares

UV 2021/10000 Escaping Snares and Cares
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
Luke 21 v 34
We are to pay attention to our inner self and the way we lead our lives. We should not allow ourselves to be lured into drunkenness, excessive revelling and the obsessions of this world. As spiritual watchmen called by the Lord, our first duty is to watch ourselves. Neither should we allow ourselves to be weighed down by worries and anxieties of this world. We should trust the Lord to more than adequately meet our basic needs. We should always watch out for the coming of the Master. When He returns He should find our lamps burning bright, our faith fanned into full flame. He should find us fully clothed in the clothes of salvation and not naked or bereft of the insignia of a living faith. It needs a living faith to connect to a living God. All of us have desires of body, heart and mind. Some of these desires are legitimate and worthy. But our heart's desire or our core desire, our highest desire should be for the Lord. When that is so, we will not exchange our heart's desire for any lesser desire. The Lord having taken charge of our hearts will then not allow us to be trapped by the enemy in the area of our less than legitimate desires.
Watching ourselves implies that we should daily spend time in the presence of the Lord and examine our lives in His light to find if there is anything that offends Him. Our introspection should be guided by the Holy Spirit so that He flashes the torchlight on the areas in our lives where we need to make amends. The Word is the plumbline we should use to build the spiritual walls straight and strong around us. Like Daniel we should read the signs of the times and the writing on the wall and be able to interpret it correctly. We need to pray always so that we are counted worthy to escape the snares of the enemy and ruler of this world. The enemy prepares individual-specific snares taking into account our own inner weaknesses whether it is a tendency towards lust of the eye, lust of the flesh or pride of life. If he cannot ensnare or distracts us with pleasures that take advantage of our own hidden desires, thoughts, intentions and words, he disturbs us with cares or worries.
Prayer is a legitimate escape route from the snares and troubles of this world. Praise and worship are like an elevator that takes us into the presence of the Lord. The Word is a torchlight that guides us through the escape route into the elevator. Once we are on the elevator, we reach the level at which the Lord dwells. We can take shelter here under His shadow and under His wings from the temptations and troubles that overtake the faithless. Nothing that the enemy of our souls throws at us would no longer surprise us or ensnare us. The reference to Day implies that our lives in this world are like a time of darkness. Our knowledge of the Lord is partial and limited. We can choose to live in such a way that the Lord is watching us or be oblivious of His existence. We are to be as desirous of escaping from temptations and compromises with this world as we are desirous of escaping dangers and threats.

Prateep V Philip

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