Pull Me Out Of the Net

Psalms 31:1-4

1.    In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

2.    Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.

3.    For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.

4.    Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.

I know what it’s like to be caught in the net of sin.  I know what it’s like to do what I, deep in my heart, don’t want to do, and thereby become ensnared in the chains of consequence.  I want to be free, I want to break the chains of enslavement to the flesh… but I am weak… the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is certainly weak.  And, sometimes… the spirit isn’t even all that willing.

 

I have made a vow.  No, I am not married and neither am I consecrated to a Religious Order, but, still, I have made a vow.  I have taken the leap of faith and given my heart, “credo,” to God.  My relationship with God is one of commitment and devotion to Him, through Christ Jesus, a loving surrender of self to be in union with Christ’s Sacred Heart and the Divine Way in giving myself to God.  Though most of my sentences thus far in this writing have begun with “I”, I know that I am not the beginning, I am not my own source, and neither am I the ultimate end – that is God.  In love I believe, I give my heart, my whole self, to God and I trust in God.  He is my salvation.  He is my Savior.  He is my rock.  He is my strength.  He is my hope…

 

And, so, with a contrite heart, repentant of my actions, fully aware of my weakness, my fallibility, my too often lack of love and fidelity, I turn to God who is my Rescuer, my Salvation, and God hears my penitential cry for mercy.  God does bow down His divine ear to me and hears my sorrow, hears my desire to be healed and made new.  God pulls me out of the snares of sin and stands me on His firm ground, to begin again, forgiven.  God invites me, calls me, to take refuge in Him to find my home, my strength and renewal, in His house, His fortress against all that would trap me, all that would weigh me down with the burden of unlove, the burden of selfishness.  God frees me and cleans me and gives me strength to try once more to walk in the ways of righteousness, the ways of love, faithfulness, and forgiveness.

 

And God wants me to be like Him and do the same for all of His beloved children.  And, yet… how often have I wanted people, even the people that I love, to suffer punishment for their wrongdoings, to hurt, to suffer, even to bleed?  Do I have no mercy in my heart?  If I have actually given my heart and placed my heart into the Sacred Heart of Jesus, into the endless font of mercy and love, then shouldn’t I, too, be merciful and loving?

 

God created everything out of nothing and, even out of darkness, God creates light; even out of despair, God creates hope; even out of wrongdoing, God creates right.  And, so, though I am a limited human being fraught with faults and failings, God loves me and teaches me in my weakness.  God takes pity on me.  From my own experience with sin, from my own falling down on my face in the ensnaring net of selfishness and infidelity, God, in saving me, shows me the beautiful strength and power of mercy, the unlimited rescue and goodness of love.  May I so love as God loves me.  May I, in His Spirit, lovingly strive to set other captives free.

Christina Chase