Free from Entanglements

I was walking in the park one morning when I noticed a stag with its antlers tangled in a branch. I watched from a safe distance to see whether it would untangle itself. Sure enough, the deer untangled itself, but seconds later, it went back to the same position —tangled up in the branch. There it was, butting its head around, trying to free itself. It freed itself again but went back to do the same thing. I stood shaking my head.

Why is this deer not realizing when it’s free? I approached another walker nearby and pointed out the situation. He advised that we leave the deer alone because visitors are not allowed to go near them; the stag would eventually figure out what to do. I kept watching for a few minutes, encouraging the stag, “Go, go, you’re free.” After what looked like several painful entanglements, the stag finally walked away free.

“Yeah!” I cheered, so happy that it was free to wander the rest of the park. This is how God looks at us, pleading for us to walk free in the path that He has made plain for us. God hurts when He sees us making the same mistakes again and again.

He patiently waits for us, ready to intervene and cheering us on when we do the right thing. Entanglement became a meme word of 2020 when a famous actor’s wife used this word to describe her extramarital affair. Many laughed at her choice of words, including me, but when I reflect, I realize I have some entanglements of my own.

There are some things that I need to walk away from, and even when I do, I sometimes find myself in the same situation again.

Other times, we may not even realize that we are entangled, and even worse, we may not see the way out. Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit enlightens us to see our condition, and if we are entangled, pray for the courage and strength to walk away from entanglements that are not good for us. God promises us that we can find freedom through Jesus Christ. When we are free, we can walk in that freedom, truly accepting and believing it is ours. I remember a song about being wrapped up and tangled up with Jesus —that’s the only entanglement I want.

Kimasha P. Williams