A Promise From God

Proverbs 29:25English Standard Version (ESV)

25 The fear of man lays a snare,
    but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

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Proverbs 29:25New International Version (NIV)

25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
    but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

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            This verse means a lot to me in whatever version you want to take it in. It is the theme of what I have been praying for a lot of people lately. A friend had it in an email that they sent out and it just hit the right spot for me when praying. There are times that I pray that certain people whether family or friends are safe in the Lord. When I say safe, I could mean traveling, health, their attitude, their heart, and much more. I usually end my prayers with "Please keep ____________ safe" and sometimes if I know they are traveling or more exactly what they are doing I add that on to the end. 

              There was one night that I prayed this verse and that was all that the prayer was about or I should say mostly about. Then I said to the Lord, "When I say, Please keep ___________ safe, this is the verse that I want it to mean". It is also one of God's important promises to us and that is what I love about this verse. The last thing after the word "but" is a promise to all believers. It is a promise that "whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe". That is all you have to do. Trust. Yeah, it is one word but it is harder then that.  The verse give a problem that is in the world and then it gives the solution/promise to that problem afterwards. 

             Snare means this:

"to catch or involve by trickery or wile".

           That means the first part of the verse is scary in a way because other man will try to get us involved in something we shouldn't be involved with or trick us into getting involved. Why do we usually get involved in something of this world because we are fearful of men and not in a good way? We do it because we are scared. We do it because we don't trust that the Lord can do it better. Yet the verse says that if we trust in Him, He will keep us safe. It didn't say that it will be better or the best but it is a way for God to keep us safe. Isn't being safe better then anything else in the world? Especially when it is under God's supervision? 

            I think this would be a good verse to teach our children at a young age and if not them, then especially teenagers because that is when man will try to get into their minds and test things epsically the dangerous things. Can't you see that in today's world. The magazines, the protests, the haters, the music and TV shows even. They are all telling teenagers about the scary things and that it is okay to do them when it isn't. They make the scary things look good when they are not. They don't show the bad sides of the good things because they won't make the sale or they won't get to be the biggest brand out there and so on. 

             Fear of man won't keep you safe like the world says it will. Only the trust that you have in God will keep you safe. That is a promise from God that you can count on for the good and for enterity.