Vigilantly he watches from afar, waiting unwearyingly as his prey strides with carelessness towards the trap. Oblivious to what lurks ahead, the prey approaches, the ground crunching beneath his vulnerable feet. The bait has been set. The wait has been a long, but it will be well worth it. Once the prey is caught in the snare, the dining will be exquisite. His pulse races with anticipation at the thought of having another one in his grasp. His heart pounds loudly, the sound escalates, rising to a deafening pitch in his ears. His endurance is rewarded as the prey falls tumbling, tumbling, endlessly into the net. The prey struggles and attempts to free himself, but to no avail. The more he struggles, the more he becomes entangled in the snare. The deadly tentacles tightly grasp the prey, devouring it as it thrashes about within the snare’s clutches.
***
Your mind goes back to where you went off the path.” How did I fall back into the clutches of the snare yet again?” you ask. You thought you had conquered it when it released you the last time. You vowed it would never again entrap you, but here you find yourself in its grasp.
The enemy has a snare for us all. He takes his time designing it to our unique specifications. He creates it with the right amount of enticement to lure you. While others can see your snare miles away, you are totally blinded to it. Others judge you and ask how you could have been so blind as not to see it right in front of you. But, that’s because the snare was not designed for them. It was made to be concealed solely from you.
The first time you were released from the snare, you felt confident you would see the signs of warning the next time. You did not expect that it would be wrapped differently this time. Remaining free from the snare became more difficult than you anticipated. The Bible tells us, Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1). Staying free requires diligence on our part. We must continue to be watchful and flee from temptation. The enemy is always seeking to see who is not on his guard and is always ready to pounce when you least suspect. We must pray that God helps us to always be alert to the trickery and deception of the enemy.
Mother Vivian Valdez Pruitte