It was October of 1987 in Midland, Texas. An 18 month old baby girl named Jessica falls into a well. Wedged in a pipe 22 feet below, she calls out to her Auntie for help. Rescue workers flee quickly to the scene. Jessica can barely breathe. Fresh air and heat are pumped down to her. Rescuers work around the clock to free her. They drill a parallel tunnel and connecting shaft through solid rock to reach her. It seems the whole world is watching, praying, encouraging, hoping, and rescuing…
Dark. Lonely. Cold. Painful. Confusing. Helpless. Trapped.
Two and half days and 59 hours later, a filthy and alert Baby Jessica is wrapped in gauze and strapped to a backboard. Rescued. Delivered. Set free. Millions cheer and celebrate and church bells ring out…
Now, you and I may never fall into a well. But we all fall into traps don’t we? Whether we realize it or not, sometimes we get stuck and no matter how hard we try, we can’t get out. We begin to feel alone, overwhelmed, burdened, stressed, abandoned, and helpless. Deep down we feel dissatisfied, unfulfilled, discontent, and underachieving…
Some traps are obvious and some are subtle. Maybe we get entangled in finding our identity and security in affluence. Maybe we get stuck in a rut of apathy and begin to grow numb and bitter to the needs around us. Maybe we become quick to judge, quick to speak, and quick to anger. Maybe we get sucked into the snare of approval and value our popularity over staying true to ourselves. Maybe we fall prey to the lies of the world and seek after a fancy exterior while our precious interior withers away. Maybe our faith becomes so legalistic and robotic that we’ve started to work for our salvation rather than work out our salvation. Big difference there.
So how do we get out of our traps? First, realize you are in one. Second, recognize there is nothing you can do to get out — like an 18 month old baby trapped in a well. Third, trust in your rescuer and His plan.
Confess you are trapped. Cry out for help. And just trust…
We are never too far. Never too deep. Never too dark. Never too bad. Never too trapped.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:39, “Nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Rescuer has embraced us” (Romans 8:39).
So, may we surrender ourselves to the One who resisted every trap set to ensnare Him. May we find all our security, all our identity, all our self-worth, and all our purpose in the One who knows us the best and loves us the most. May we find strength in the One who willingly walked right into a trap-into the depths of the earth—completely alone—so we didn’t have to. May we find confidence in the One who neither slumbers nor sleeps—who works around the clock to breathe life into us, to strengthen us, and to rescue us.
May we trust in the One who resisted the trap of affluence—the One who became nothing, poor, a servant, humble (Phil. 2:6-8), and homeless (Luke 9:58)—the One who trusted in the glorious riches of His Father (Phil. 4:19)—the One who didn’t worry about how to pay for things (Matthew 6:25). May we devote ourselves to the One who avoided the trap of apathy—the One who welcomed disruptions (Mark 10:46-52), passionately pursued others (Luke 19:1-10), and the One who not only did something, but everything.
May we embrace the One who perfectly dodged the trap of approval—the One who spoke the truth (John 8:32), gave His Father credit (John 8:54), and the One whom others wanted to kill (John 10:30-33). May we entrust ourselves to the One who pulled out all the stops to save us.
This is Jesus.