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Wisdom, Fear, and...

             The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare. (Psalm 25: 14-15)

 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. (Psalm 111:10)

 

The words that seem to be asking for attention today are fear, snare, and wisdom. I have written about fear in a number of senses. There are times when it is appropriate and times when it is not. Proper fear involves an awareness that there are consequences to deal with in response to our actions. If you kick something in bare feet, you hurt your foot (unless you’re specially trained.) It’s wise to fear that you’ll hurt your foot if you kick something, and therefore avoid kicking things. So, there’s at least some wisdom in fear and fear in wisdom.

The other word is snare. When I’m weeding; working with yarn, cord, or string; or an electrical cord, I seems as though I end up with something wrapped around my shoe or ankle. I have yet to feel the need to shout “Timber!” but it’s come close a few times. When I am most likely to get snared by these things is when I’m trying to do something complicated or trying to do more than one thing at a time.

Mowing the lawn with an electric mower is a great example of getting snared. In addition to paying attention to the grass and the mower, you have to pay attention to where the electrical cord is because it can trip you or you might mow the cord. It seems as if it takes at least four hands. The same with weeding, especially when there are vines involved.  There are also snares that people leave to trip you up. Their snares are either hidden or they distract you so you don’t notice until it’s too late.

One of today’s passages talks about this. Only God will free you from snares. One picture of this is of the Father or the Son lifting us up and untangling that vine that wrapped around our ankle. I suspect this is the picture most of us want to see. But another way He does this is by teaching us, whether as a point of wisdom or a command. If we are walking with Him, He is available to help us if we fall, but He is also there to say, “Stay on this path, don’t go over there, because what they are doing is a snare to you.”

          And the “to you” part is key. Some snares will trip you up. Others will be no problem. There are things that don’t tempt me, or don’t seriously tempt me. Alcohol and nicotine aren’t likely to trip me up, but food will. Distractions are a big problem for me. Rejection or the prospect of rejection can trip me up if the person matters to me. Performance/perfection (of a sort) is another.

          This is an area in which we need to spend time in prayer. What are your snares? What are your weaknesses? A friend may be better able to tell than you are. If we know what some of our snares are, we may be better able to avoid them.

          Lord, teach us to fear You, and therefore walk in wisdom, avoiding the snares that so easily entangle us. Reveal to us something that snares us today, that You may free us from it.

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