Nancy Hughes: Hidden danger

“My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.”

Psalm 25:15 (NIV)

It never occurred to me that my husband’s favorite hobby, coon hunting, could be dangerous. He mentioned that to me one time and I couldn’t help myself. “So, what’s the danger?” I asked him. “When the raccoon chases YOU instead of the other way around?” I joked.

He smiled. “Very funny, but no. There are wells on old properties that are hidden because they are covered with vines and branches. You have no idea they are there until you step into one. It’s kind of like having traps everywhere. And you don’t know how deep they are, either, so you can never let down your guard and just walk through a field. You have to constantly be watching.”

When I asked him how he kept from falling in one, he replied “You have to always keep your light on to watch where you step.” Not long after that he came home from a hunt and told me that he had fallen into a well, just as we had talked about a few days earlier. Shaken, I immediately asked “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I turned off my light for just a second and my foot stepped right into a well. The good thing was that as I fell, I grabbed two huge vines that had grown down into it and I was able to pull myself out.” He raised his hand up as I started to comment: “And before you ask, yes, I kept my light on the rest of the hunt.”

Could it have been that David was thinking about stepping into hidden danger when he wrote Psalm 25:15? It says “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.”

David knew that evil men were all around him, hoping that he would not keep his guard up and would fall into a “well” of danger, a snare that would trap him. But David understood the only way he could keep out of the traps they set was to keep his focus on the Lord, no matter what he faced.

How do we measure up, I wonder? Because Satan sets traps all around us every day. If we do not keep our eyes on the Lord and stay in His Word, we can fall into hidden wells, too. Misplaced pride, envy, resentment, choosing happiness over joy, and lust for what others have are subtly placed in our lives every day by Satan.

Oh, he does a good job of disguising them with half-truths and deceptions but do not be fooled. Every single one can catch us off guard and snare us if we start believing we can walk wherever we want without keeping the Light on with every step. Don’t be deceived by the enemy. Stay in God truth – the Bible – every single day. Keep the Light on in your life to avoid all the wells of hidden danger.

Father, keep my eyes focused on you so that I can avoid everything Satan places in my path to try to trap me. My strength comes from you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

Do you find yourself more focused on the Lord or are you falling into hidden “wells” of danger more frequently?

Are you in the Word every day?

Apply

Journal a list of every time in the last two weeks you have taken your eyes off the Light of the Lord and have fallen into a hidden well.

Beside each entry in your journal, write a Scripture that encourages you to stay focused on the Lord and ask a prayer warrior to hold you accountable.

Power

Psalm 25:15 (NIV) “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.”

Proverbs 3:26 (NIV) . . . for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.”

II Timothy 2:26 (NIV) “. . . and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

I Peter 5:8 (NIV) “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)