Traps, Snarees And All Things Of That Matter.

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Dig into everyday life with Elizabeth's House Ministries leader Melissa Sharpe on the Elizabeth's House Ministries blog!

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Traps, Snarees And All Things Of That Matter.

June 8, 2011

I was out on our breakfast deck early the other morning with a steaming hot cup of coffee (yum) and my bible looking for a little solitude. Surprisingly, my husband wasn't far behind me with a mission on his mind. He had vegetables, crass clippings and fishing wire in his hand. I watched quietly from several feet away as he laid upon the ground beside a large metal animal trap. You see, we have a mama and papa bunny that have made a home underneath our side deck. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't eat all my plants and breed litters under my daughter's play equipment.

This particular morning I had been reading through Proverbs in the Message bible. One stretch of scripture jumped out at me and I began to meditate on it:

Dear friend, listen well to my words;
    tune your ears to my voice.
Keep my message in plain view at all times.
    Concentrate! Learn it by heart!
Those who discover these words live, really live;
    body and soul, they're bursting with health.
Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
That's where life starts.
Don't talk out both sides of your mouth;
    avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
    ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
    and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
    leave evil in the dust.

Proverbs 4.20-27 (The Message)

My husband was working diligently to construct the perfect trap for our furry friends. He has been fighting with these particular bunnies for quite a while now. Every trap he has set they have managed to escape. I think it's a slight source of frustration for him now. He's going to do anything to snatch those dang rabbits.
I watched every premeditated move with growing fascination. Just the right carrot here. The perfect amount of grass there... and SNAP! There he was, belly down on the soft dewy grass, plotting every move. And It was there that I saw it. The Spirit revealed to me a most interesting insight into the workings of my enemy's mind.

Traps, snares and all things of that matter. You see, when we grow stronger in the Lord, we grow wiser. The closer we grow to him, the farther we become set apart from the enemy. Which means, the harder he must work against us. As my husband has studied those rabbits, the enemy of our souls studies us. He watches our every move and mentally calculates the end result. Or what he expects from us. So he studies, he plots, and he diligently works to construct the perfect trap to catch us. Scripture tells us that I also realized how foolish I can be sometimes to walk right into his silly game.

This paraphrase of Proverbs touched me to my very core. God has been working on me for a while now on one particular trap that I walked into a number of years ago. I should of seen that one coming, but I didn't. I was young and naive in my journey with the Lord. It's a detail of my life that was most instrumental in the reshaping of my soul. It's a part of my story that He is preparing me to teach one day. Today is not that day, but it's coming soon and when it does... I'll be ready.

If I can always remember this moment... maybe I'll learn to keep one step ahead of him. I'll be wiser, stronger... and ready.

Those bunnies still haven't made it into that trap. They're getting wise to his tricks.

Have you ever recognized the traps set before you? Are you ready?

2 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT

On Wednesday, June 8, 2011, Sharla said

VERY apt word Melissa! Thank you for sharing.

On Wednesday, June 8, 2011, Dwayne Vann said

As I was reading this I got thinking of my own rabbit issues in my garden. A slightly different twist to watching out for the traps; but I have used what is called blood meal to keep the animals away. I cover the garden in a sprinkling of this blood meal and it keeps the pests out. Similar to what your post made me think of when thinking of the blood of Jesus. Sprinkled on our lives it keeps the enemy away. He (the enemy) smells the death and resurrection and lordship of God over our lives and runs:) Thanks for this post!