Written 11/3/2019

Is there anything in the Bible you personalize more when most others don’t? For me, it’s Psalm 124:7. In the version of the Bible that I most often use, the CJB, it’s simply worded like this: “We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s trap; the trap is broken, and we have escaped.” Yay! Freedom! However, in many English translations, it looks more like this: “We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers….” That probably doesn’t make you cringe–most people feel the victory of escape. I really want to concentrate on that part of the passage but my last name is Fowler.

When I first started dating my husband I read the statement: “Beware the snare of the fowler,” and I took it to heart. I searched for every flaw I could find in him to send him on his way. God refused to let me find a good reason. That was over twenty-five years ago. But, now that I have been a Fowler for so long, I read the passage and wonder, “Have I set traps for people? Somewhere inside, my heart is uneasy. How do I trap people without being aware?

Do I throw nets over people that I will only remove when they agree to come around to my way? Perhaps I do…. Nets of anger, frustration, disappointment, judgment, betrayal…. There are times I throw out the net to keep others a safe distance from me. If I have caged them, I’m free–right? Wrong! 

Who am I to be using those wicked traps? God’s command repeatedly is to love. Love who? Love every person God brings into your life. Don’t become the fowler of the Book. And, if you already are, pray for freedom from yourself!