It Starts Small

When we think of a net, twenty years ago, we would have been thinking about a hair net or maybe a fishing net. In today’s world, we almost automatically think of the world wide web, or as we call it, the net. The internet. I came across an interesting verse that I am going to put a couple versions of the verse up.

¹⁵ My eyes are always on the Lord,
for he will pull my feet out of the net.
Psalms 25:15 CSB

¹⁵ Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Psalms 25:15 KJV

¹⁵ If I keep my eyes on God,
I won’t trip over my own feet.
Psalms 25:15 MSG

¹⁵ My eyes are always looking to the Lord for help.
    He will keep me from any traps.
Psalms 25:15 NCV

¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the Lord,
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.
Psalms 25:15 NIV

There is something the Lord is going to save us or pull us out of. These translations say it is a net, a snare, tripping over myself, or a trap.

The Net

The Hebrew word here is resheth, and in this text is means, spread for feet of man. SO there is something that is spread before our feet that the Lord will keep us from stepping on or if we have stepped on it, we will be rescued.

What is the net referencing? Let us look at other passages that use the same exact word to discover what this net is.

¹⁵ The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
¹⁶ The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
    the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands
Psalms 9:15-16

This passage shows us that nations can set a hidden net for other nations and they will fall into it. It also reveals that the wicked who set nets will eventually be ensnared by their own net.

⁹     like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
    he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
Psalms 10:9

These nets are set to carry off the helpless. These nets are meant to steal us away or get us away from something.

⁵ Those who flatter their neighbors
    are spreading nets for their feet.
Proverbs 29:5

We know this proverb very well to mean, that speaking flattery, or in other words, our vain speech is used to deceitfully get something from another for our own selfish reasons. I believe we can conclude, that others will set nets to get something from us.

⁷ Since they hid their net for me without cause
    and without cause dug a pit for me,
Psalm 35:7

These nets are something that are hidden. We do not see them coming. They are set by an enemy for the purpose of something that is not godly. They are set to take something or ourselves away.

Is that not how we often find ourselves? We are traveling along the path and we have, out of nowhere, seemed to have found ourselves in a trap? Who has set this trap? How did we fall in the trap?

The Who

²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:26

The devil, sinister minister is constantly setting a trap, a snare, for us. His desire is to steal us away from God. To get us to willingly obey our flesh that he can steal us away from our path. His purpose over us is to get us to worship him and do his evil will.

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Satan is the master sinner. He knows us very well. He knows exactly how to push our buttons and what traps to set before us. He is a skilled hunter. He knows what net, what cable snare, what covered pit to dig. He greatly desires to catch us off guard and to lead us away from our discipleship paths. God’s Word reveals satan’s nets.

False Doctrine

4 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, I Timothy 4:1

Paul warns Timothy in his letter that some will depart from their path by being ensnared by false doctrine. Paul also gave strong warning to the church at Corinth about false doctrine.

¹³ For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Paul warns that Satan can disguise himself as a prophet through others and those people will do his bidding. They will ensnare people with a false doctrine. Today’s flavor is a feel good gospel. I believe it is called a prosperity gospel. No matter what we call it, Paul says watch out! Be sober and aware of false teaching.

¹⁹ You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder. James 1:19

Even demons believe the scriptures and because they know scripture, it is not all that hard to influence the use of it to lead people away.

Deceit and Lying

Jesus gave a very accurate and interesting description of the devil:

⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44

Adam and Eve were ensnared by his lies. They believed his slander of the Lord and satan led them right into his trap. His intention is to murder us by our own undoing. It is us that chooses to turn our back on God’s truth. Our unbelief, doubt, and fear causes us to walk off the path of righteousness right into the trap of satan. When we lie and deceive others, we are nothing more than his pawn. Lies, deceit, and manipulation are the handy work of evil influence.

Evil Thoughts

¹⁴ But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. James 3:14-16

James warns us about sensual and demonic wisdom that results in confusion. God is NOT the author of confusion.

³³ For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:33

Satan is the master of confusion. He uses confusion as a trap to get us to doubt and to undermine God’s work. All evil comes from the heart. Selfishness, bitterness, and pride entap the heart and cause great confusion to others. Satan works through a heart of bitterness, selfishness, and pride to ensnare others with confusion.

Anger and Accusation

²⁶ Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and don’t give the devil an opportunity. Ephesians 4:26-27

We all get a little angry from time to time. What is the harm in that? God’s Word is clear that when we get angry we invite bitterness into our heart and take on the spirit of accusation. Instead of following God’s Word:

¹⁴ Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many. Hebrews 12:14-15

We hold onto that anger and let it trap us into bitterness and accusation. The greatest way to tell if someone has forgiven you or not, is if they are still accusing you. Great spiritual forgiveness is paying the debt someone owes that they can not pay. When we do not give forgiveness we continually find ways of accusing them. We judge them in all they do and seek to point out fault in them. Are you an accuser? Guess who our accuser is:

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,

The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ
have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them
before our God day and night,
has been thrown down.
Revelation 12:10

Satan is in the throne room right now accusing all of us before God. When we point the finger at someone else because we have fallen into a trap of anger, and refused to forgive, we are acting just like him. We are acting like the greatest accuser and father of lies and deceit when we start walking around in anger and revenge accusing others.

These are some of my own pinpointed nets and snares. I know there are many more. Anything that jumped up and lead us off the path of righteousness and discipleship is a snare. A net. Something meant to steal us from God. I have set these nets or have allowed others to lead me into a net. What on earth are we to do? How do we avoid these nets?

Dodge and Rescue

So I do not play many phone games, but I do play Jurassic World Live. You know, the one where you collect dinosaurs and level them up. You battle your dino against others. The ones that drive me crazy, but I love to use are the ones with a dodge ability. You can have a top level unique rexy, but against a cunning one with dodge, you are in trouble.

¹⁵ My eyes are always on the Lord,
for he will pull my feet out of the net.
Psalms 25:15

David writes that we need to equip ourselves with a dodge ability…..keep our eyes on the Lord. How do we do that?

Do Not Stray

⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
Psalm 119:67

Straying away from the Word of God is a certain trap. When we begin to stray away from time in prayer, worship, praise, God’s Word, and listening to the Holy Spirit, we stray away from the path. When we neglect making God a priority, we walk right into the trap of selfishness and pride. We depend less upon God and more on ourselves.

Do Not Strut

Have you ever seen turkeys compete for a mate? They puff their chests out and strut around with their tails fanned out. They blow air out their nose and puff themselves as tall as they can get.

¹⁸ Pride comes before destruction,
and an arrogant spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18

Pride, arrogance, egotism, is certain death and destruction. It is the ultimate act of rebellion and says directly to God, I do not need you. I am better than you. Jesus tells us we need to walk in humility. We need to become servants to him if we ever want to receive the full power and promises of our Heavenly Father.

DO Not Stoop

²¹ Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good. Romans 12:21

When you have the opportunity to return evil with evil, you are walking into a net that will eventually consume you, as we learned in the verses above. See the net and dodge it. Instead, return acts of evil with genuine kindness. Return evil hateful words for kind tenderness. Speak in truth with humility when false doctrine tried to lead you astray. DO not stoop to the lower level of satan.

DO not Stop

²² You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 10:22

DO not stop. DO not stop walking your path of discipleship for anything or anyone. Satan loves to attract, to distract, to destroy. Keep moving. Satan dwells within subtility. No storm, no trouble, no trial is to great for us because with God’s grace, all things are possible and satan is no match for God. Recognize your own weaknesses. What distracts you from making God priority in your life. What distracts your eyes from looking and keeping focus on Him? Learn to avoid and dodge it.

What nets are you trapped in today? Let us look back at our verse.

¹⁵ My eyes are always on the Lord,
for he will pull my feet out of the net.
Psalms 25:15

Are you saying Amen? There is a huge promise in this scripture! Keeping our eyes upon Him and He will pull us out of any trap we are in today. Satan is crafty, even the best of us will fall or have fallen in traps. God is ever present to help us in our time of need.

What traps are you in today? WHat do you need rescued from or pulled from today? He is there to help you.