Watch Out For That Trap!

Just as a spider weaves
its deceptive web,
Satan lays a snare for us.

From a sermon by Paul Andrews

Some years ago my attention was caught by the actions of a spider spinning his web. While I watched, a fly landed on the web and then tried to get away. One of its legs was caught, and the fly used its wings to try to escape. Although it struggled earnestly, the fly could not get away from that web. It didn’t take long for this victim to become completely entangled. When the spider came across the web, the fly was helpless.

Satan sets his trap

Scripture reminds us of the subtleties of Satan, as he sets his traps to ensnare the unwary soul. Because humans still fall prey to the same age-old temptations and accusations, Satan has not changed his tactics throughout the centuries. People often say, “There are certain things I’ll never get mixed up in. I know too much about the Word of God.” I have talked to unsaved people about the events that are coming upon this world. I have referred to the Antichrist and to the mark of the beast that the Antichrist will compel people to take. One after another of these people say, “I’ll never do that. I know better.” They are self-confident . . . but without God and His Spirit and strength, they cannot stand.

Occasionally, in the everyday affairs of life, we hear someone say, “Well, so-and-so was just too sure of himself.” While we may be able to get away with this type of self-confidence in commonplace things, we dare not rely upon ourselves in the spiritual. We cannot depend upon our own strength and knowledge.

The danger of spiritual blindness

Israel, God’s chosen people, many times depended upon their own strength, and they often found themselves in deep trouble as a result. It was difficult for them to stand against false worship, and thousands fell into idolatry. A blindness comes upon people when they are careless and self-confident. With this blindness, people forget where their victory comes from. Israel was often in this situation.

We read in Isaiah, “These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God” (Isaiah 51:19,20).

The prophet Isaiah painted some of the most vivid word pictures in Scripture. I don’t know exactly how Isaiah pictured this net or how that great animal had become trapped, but nets usually entangle a little at a time. The animal might catch one foot first and then, while he tries to break loose, catch another. Before long he becomes helpless.

Failed to recognize the danger

The Lord, through the prophet, wasn’t talking about animals only. He says that this happened to Israel, and it is something we need to avoid. The enemy of our souls sets traps that catch many people. We often hear someone say, “I had no thought that it would turn out like this. This isn’t what I had planned.” A twelve-year-old boy recently shot his dad with a shotgun. When the officer talked to him after he was incarcerated, the young boy repeatedly said, “Tell me—please tell me that my dad’s still alive and that he didn’t really die.” He was trapped. The danger was there, but he had failed to recognize it.

Trapping a pack rat

When I was young we lived on a ranch. Pack rats were quite common in that area. They are sometimes called trading rats because if they take an item they will usually bring something in exchange. One particular season we had a box of apples in the attic, and the eaves were open. The rats often came up our cedar tree, onto the roof, through the eaves, into the attic, and got an apple.

I thought I could catch the rats with a trap, so I set one and baited it with an apple. I tried everything I could to cause the rats to go into the trap, but they were careful. I didn’t catch any that way, so I tried another idea. I took a galvanized washtub and a few buckets of water upstairs. Then I took a piece of wood and leaned it against the side of the tub, making a pathway for the rats to climb up. I tied down the wood so if they got up to the other end and fell into the water, the wood would not fall into the water and provide a pathway for them to get out. I then placed an apple in the water. The rats went up the wood, and as that stick overbalanced, they lost their balance and fell into the tub. The string kept the stick on the outside, and the rats were trapped.

One method after another

Traps work. Satan tries one, and then he tries another. He keeps trying different methods until somebody falls for the trap. Often, people get so ensnared in situations that they never get out. Regardless of their good intentions and knowledge, they get caught. Regardless of all the times they say, “Not me; I’ll never fall for that,” they are lured by Satan’s bait. Whenever they respond to Satan’s suggestions, he winds the cord around them one more time, taking their liberties from them.

The snare of pride

I know of a young man who had great opportunities to succeed in life, but he had one very great failing: pride. He once told someone, “I am going to the top. I don’t care who I have to step on. I’m headed for the top, and whatever it takes, I’ll get there.” It appeared that he would do what he said.

This man was married and had a nice family. Things seemed to be going his way, but the old trap maker was placing traps. One day, Satan caught him in a trap that has snared many men. He met a young lady who told him the well-worn story, “I feel sorry for you. You’re just not treated right at home.” He fell for it. The man’s wife later told someone, “He needed exercise, and in the evenings he said he was going out for a walk. I couldn’t figure out why he showered before he exercised. It took me awhile to catch on.” The enemy had thrown a loop around this proud man, and ultimately destroyed him.

Relationship traps

Relationship traps often come upon men and women around their middle years. Sometimes you hear this kind of trap referred to as a “mid-life crisis.” At about this time, people begin to think, Whatever I’m going to do in life, I’d better do it now. The years are just coming and going too fast. Although these people may not necessarily want to become involved in a relationship, they want to be accepted. When they look in the mirror one morning and see the first wrinkle, they think, I have to be careful. I want to be attractive. There’s nothing wrong with looking nice, but we can become obsessed by that. Some people want to camouflage the fact that they are no longer what they once were. How important it seems, to get the smile and the approval of others!

Many times people get caught in what, at first, appears to be a completely innocent situation. Without realizing it, they allow the enemy to wrap the cord around them. I have heard people say, “I’d give my right arm to get out of this.” What originally happened to bring them into the situation? The enemy set a trap, and they found themselves ensnared. Satan entangled them a little at a time until one day they suddenly realized, I can’t get loose from this. The more they tried to get out, the more they were caught.

The enemy is sly

The enemy of your soul and of mine is very sly, and he has his traps set. As we go through everyday life, he places them wherever they are the most likely to work. He doesn’t catch everyone with the same type of net, but whether it is involvement in a relationship, in business, or in something else, people who aren’t watchful get caught in Satan’s snares. When he recognizes our weaknesses, he knows where to set the traps. It may not take a dozen traps. He may only have to use one if he pinpoints our biggest weakness.

Only through the power of Jesus’ Blood can we stay clear of Satan’s traps. After being delivered from sin, it is possible to be entrapped once again, sometimes by a worse trap than we were delivered from in the first place. Don’t get the idea that you have been a Christian so long that you know and understand everything. Even though the Scripture says we are not ignorant of the enemy’s devices, it takes more than awareness to withstand the enemy. It takes more power than we have. We must stay close to the Lord. We are assured of victory as we keep hold of God and His promises, and keep our lives clean by the Word of God.

Paul Andrews is a retired pastor of the Apostolic Faith work, and a member of the ministerial staff in Medford, Oregon.