Daily Devotions
Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare. Psalm 91:3
The psalms provide a treasure chest of practical help for the Christian life. Psalm 91 especially addresses the believer in time of trouble. The psalmist writes, “Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare.” Unsuspecting birds faced serious trouble when a wooden cage was dropped on top of them. Hopelessly trapped, they could not escape.
We are often trapped by our own troubles just like the unsuspecting bird. Other people set traps for us, and sometimes we set traps for ourselves. We may choose the wrong kind of friends and so be led into sin. The fowler’s snare drops on us. Trapped.
We develop a hectic pace of life. Work takes long hours if we expect to advance in rank and salary. Social engagements crowd our calendar – part of the good life, we think. We encourage the children to participate in sports, music lessons, and school events. We struggle to make our home and yard a showplace. The fowler’s snare drops on us. Trapped.
We spend money to buy necessities and then luxuries which we call necessities. We borrow money to pay for house, cars, boats, and campers. Then we get additional jobs to earn extra money to pay off our loans. But we can’t keep up. The fowler’s snare drops on us. Trapped.
The psalmist talks about God’s rescue. “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge” (Psalm 91:4). The mother bird stretches out her wings to protect you from the snare of the fowler. God has rescued you by sending His Son to break forever the snares of sin and death by His death on the cross. When Satan thought Jesus was trapped, the Son won the victory and burst the bonds of death on the third day. Freed from our self-made traps, we are gathered under the warm, protective wings of the Almighty.
PRAYER: Lord, keep us from getting trapped! Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)