Worship
“See a Victory” and “Surrounded” by Elevation Worship, featuring Brandon Lake
Scripture
“We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! Our help is in the name of the Lord , who made heaven and earth.” -Psalm 124:7-8 (ESV)
“For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” -Psalm 91:3-4 (ESV)
The Enemy’s Strategy
In order to have a successful hunting season, there are several necessary players and objects needed. First, you must have a fowler or a hunter. This fowler must have his weapon and have been not only studying his prey but practicing his shot. The fowler must also have a well-constructed trap to catch the unsuspecting prey. Next, you have the innocent bird, simply living life in its environment with its bird buddies. It seeks survival, protection, and refuge like every other bird. The fowler will need the necessary bait to catch the prey in the trap or kill it with a finely fashioned weapon. With all of these things in hand, you have the perfect set up to bring home the bounty of your kill.
I took a deep dive into these two Scriptures while I was in Alaska visiting my brother. That is a land teeming with hunters, prey, and traps. As winter rolls in, Alaskans have been busy fishing and hunting, storing their food for the winter. In those cold, dark months, both man and beast seek to survive. The bears have filled their bellies in preparation for hibernation. The Lord began to speak to me about the sneaky hunter, baiting his unsuspecting prey, and God’s refuge and protection over His people.
“Fowlers have many methods of taking small birds, and Satan has many methods of entrapping souls. Some are decoyed by evil companions, others are enticed by the love of dainties; hunger drives many into the trap, and fright impels numbers to fly into the net.” -Charles Spurgeon
Do you know that your enemy studies you? He knows your weaknesses, and although his methods are tried and true, they are not new, nor are they creative. He sets a trap for your feet, baits it according to your cravings and propensities, and then he waits, prowling undercover (1 Peter 5:8). Meanwhile, you fly in to taste just one of the delicacies waiting for you, and the weapon fashioned just for you wounds your soul. The clever enemy of your life works in secret, devising a plan for your destruction. Once you have outwitted him, he will change his trap or even his strategy. Remember, he has studied you. He knows what pleasures you and exactly what he needs to do to arrange for your demise. He’s crafty, ferocious, and cunning, waiting quietly in the shadows. Meanwhile, you, the unsuspecting and darling little bird, flies about in vulnerability and often innocence. He laughs as he wounds you. He chuckles as he ties a chain around your ankle so you can’t soar like you used to. Bait after bait and trap after trap, and this once free and innocent bird finds itself bound, broken, and wounded.
God’s Protection Promise
Sounds like so many of our stories in one hunting season or another, doesn’t it? But, that’s not the end of the story!
“If Jehovah had not helped, how great would have been the calamity! But He has helped, and the sigh which trembles with the consciousness of past peril, merges into the glad song: Blessed be Jehovah.” -G. Campbell Morgan
“Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” -Psalm 124:8
“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” -Psalm 91:4
“‘For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’” -Deuteronomy 20:4
“‘They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.” -Jeremiah 1:19
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” -Psalm 9:9
“Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.” -Psalm 31:4
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” -Psalm 18:2
Our Spiritual Resources
He has given us weapons for warfare. He does not leave us uncovered. He gives the strategy of worship as we exalt our victorious One. He has given us the counsel of the Holy Spirit to warn, shepherd, correct, and guide us. We have our armor (Ephesians 6) to be dressed in for the days of battle. We have the blood of Jesus to cover and to cleanse and to heal. He has given us His Word by which our minds are renewed and transformed. The power of prayer breaks strongholds and puts thousands to flight. The cross and resurrection sealed our victory over the enemy so that we can walk free of guilt and shame, wounding, and regret. He is on our side, and He has not forsaken His people.
Standing in Victory
We are victors, not victims, in this war over our lives. If Jesus says that about His overcoming ones, that truth must begin to rise up in us. We must stand steel-toed at the enemy. We must know who our companions are and the propensity of our broken humanity to fall into one trap after another, often because of whom we associate with. Do your close companions set traps for your feet or battle with you for your victory?
“‘Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch people.’” -Jeremiah 5:26
These days require utter and total dependence on Jesus because a tsunami of tactics have been unleashed across the Earth to sideline, destroy, and cripple God’s people, so we are bound and ineffective before Jesus returns. That’s the truth of these days. But if Jesus has come to heal and set His people free and to fulfill His promises for each one of us; you better believe He will stop at nothing to rescue you from the trap and heal you from the fowler’s wound.
“As the bird could not get out of the snare, so the soul cannot escape from temptation; but God can bring it out, and he works the rescue. Hear this, ye that are slaves to drunkenness: God can deliver you. You that have fallen into licentiousness hear it — God can deliver you. Whatever the sin that has birdlimed [trapped] you, that gracious hand which once was nailed to the cross can set you free.” -Charles Spurgeon
Scripture’s Warning
To those emerging from the snare throw off shame and regret and fall into the arms of Jesus. There’s too much ahead to live in the wilderness of past mistakes. Great will be your authority in ministry on the other side of your healing.
To those caught in a trap, it’s time to ask your godly companions to pray you to victory, wholeness, and freedom.
To those unsuspecting birds sitting on a branch in your bird refuge with no apparent threat, remember you have an enemy studying you to take you out. These are not days we are unwise about the schemes and strategies of our enemy.
“For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.” -Ecclesiastes 9:12 (ESV)
“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.” -Luke 21:34 (ESV)
A Prophecy of Victory
I want to close, declaring a powerful prophetic word I read as I was spending time with the Lord in all these passages of Scripture. The timing of its release was profound. Take hold of it, and declare it over your life and your loved ones!
“All demonic negotiations happening in the Spirit realm against you and your family are broken now! Lord release confusion in the encampment of darkness. What tormented you will not follow you into the next season, the Lord is closing the door to your past. Those who have plotted against you will stumble and fall into their own entrapments. What your enemies have planned for your downfall, I decree the Lord will turn it around for a testimony. I pray the Lord would grant to you full access into Heaven’s storehouse. Angelic assistance is set to deliver you from destruction and aid you in your proper position. Everything concerning the affairs of your life is being set in order, the demonic entrapment is finished in the Mighty Name of Jesus! The wind of change is blowing everything into place, get ready to catch a fresh wind!” -Charlie Shamp
In the mighty name of Jesus, amen!
