Trusting God’s Promised Security, When We are Ensnared
written by: Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“The fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the Lord is secure. ”
What a challenging passage! Proverbs 29:25 seems to be a falsehood. Anyone can come up with numerous examples of fearing others legitimately. Are the people of Ukraine secure with Putin's bombs killing indiscriminately? Iranian bombs fling into Tel Aviv and Israeli missiles, killing Hezbollah leaders but also civilians. What is the innocents' response to the promise of security? Even in our own country, we must experience the threat of a school shooter. How can we feel secure without rationally questioning why others were faithful and still snared in death?
The writer of this proverb must have had similar experiences of others suffering pain and death without the benefit of security. So, why did the writer offer this passage anyway? So many questions with so few answers. First, I believe the proverb was written to force us to consider the difficult questions and not accept the trite statements. When we make our religion too easy, with simplistic affirmations, the first time we face abject suffering, our faith disintegrates. The proverbial statement, like the one in 29:25, requires a lifetime of thoughtful consideration to answer. Reflection invites the Holy Spirit to move into our minds and guide our thoughts through life's trials. The process of contemplating this proverb is sacred and edifying.
Second, we must consider this proverb from a different perspective. Pondering the Lord's security in a world of dangerous snares requires us to look at the role of time differently. This proverb is a bald-faced lie if our life consists only of the finite time our heart beats on this earth. When time is extended to all eternity, the present snares are little more than a blip on our memory's radar. How many wrongs have you and I forgotten from 30 years ago that seemed so painful at the moment? Even a cruel death, multiplied by an eternity of love and joy, makes the horrific event infinitesimal.
Finally, security overwhelms our consciousness when we recognize that God's powerful love, mercy, and justice will forever triumph. Even the most unjust moments of our lives and the lives of others will not remain undefended. God's eternal new heaven and new earth will take charge. Our human free will must be transformed in a way that allows us to stay open to honor our God but without the freedom to scandalously abuse and terrorize others. Faith requires trust in the divine promise to secure humanity in God's kingdom in the new heaven and earth. God remains our only hope, now and forever.
