Trapped!

We fall into a trap if we believe a person, position, or possession other than Jesus can complete our lives. In our daily struggles we search for ways to stimulate our emotions or sedate our emotions in order to feel good. But that which makes me feel good enslaves me. The end result is bondage. What a cunning ploy Satan has devised! “This is what you need to feel good about yourself,” he asserts as he lays the net to ensnare you. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Prov. 14:12; 16:25 NIV). “An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him” (Prov. 5:22 NLT). These strongholds are fortifications that keep us imprisoned.

But if you really want something, who is going to stop you? The natural desire of the heart is self-indulgence: I want what I want! The end of all self-indulgence is bondage. The very thing we want will destroy us. Our self-centered choices lead to strongholds that result in relationship problems, emotional difficulties, physical challenges, and even a crisis of faith. And so we sit, looking at life through the portholes of our own strongholds that have imprisoned us.

BIBLE TRUTH
“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death” (James 1:14–15 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
The Galatians were struggling with similar issues. Paul poses this question to them: “After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Gal. 3:3 NLT). They had fallen into the deception that by practicing religious rites they could be made right with God. They had arrived at the solution that a relationship with Christ was not enough; they needed more. Paul pleads with them: “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law” (Gal. 5:1 NLT).

PRAYER
My Lord, please bring me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud and the mire. Please set my feet on solid ground and steady me as I walk along. (Ps. 40:2)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)