Feeling "Boxed" In

It has been almost 7 years ago since Darrell and I moved to San Antonio.  While I had visited San Antonio many times when my parents lived here and driven through San Antonio coming from Mexico City to my parents’ house in northern Texas, I have a new perspective about this city.

I had always viewed San Antonio as a vacation place, which is very true.  In the greater area of SA, 2.5 million people live here, bustling about on the roads of our small infrastructure. Additionally, San Antonio receives over 35 million visitors a year.  Am I painting a big picture for you of this quaint southern Texas city?  Living here in SA, means driving out of the largest US city in south Texas that is no easy feat.

So for me to get to any of our grandchildren, none of who live in SA, I either have to take I-35 North or I-10 East.  Let me say, unless you have experience either of these two major freeways, you can’t imagine the “boxed” in feeling that accompanies every trip.  Traffic can be so heavy, sometimes you just can’t move. Everyone wants to move. Feelings of frustration, anger and even rage set in for many drivers. Sometimes, it feels like being held again my will and a sense of bondage to that area of road way consumed with cars of all shapes, color, sizes sandwiched in by trucks, 18 wheelers and the travel trailers all wanting to be set free of the web that has entangled them.
 
As I was traveling back west on I-10 this past weekend, I had plenty of time to think on this “boxed” in feeling and the parallel thought of being in bondage which kept me occupied on the road way.  I thought of the Israelites, who spent hundred of years in bondage to the Egyptians. When God called Moses, to deliver His people from of their bondage, He said to Moses in Exodus 3:7, “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings”. The Israelites called out to God to deliver them from their bondage to the Egyptians.
 
 In Luke 8:41-48, Jairus, an official with the synagogue requested of Jesus to visit his 12-year-old daughter who was dying.  In route, pressed on all sides by the multitude of people, a woman who had been suffering for 12 years with an issue of blood and spent all of her money without any healing, reached out and touched the fringe of Jesus’ cloak.  In verse 46, Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me”.  The woman admitted that she had touched Jesus and why she did so, being immediately healed.  And in verse 48, Jesus said to her, “Daughter your faith has made you well; go in peace”.  This woman was in bondage to her health condition; she wanted to be set free.
 
In Mark 9:14-27, Jesus is called upon a by a father to deliver his son from the influence of a spirit which manifested in various ways in the son’s life.  This son was being tormented, and was in bondage to this spirit. The spirit rendered him mute along with causing injury to the son.  Jesus commanded the spirit to come out of the son and not to enter again.  The son was set free of the bondage and was restored. The bondage had no more power over him.
 
These three quick examples have shown us different types of bondage that can capture us or those we love. There are other forms of bondage as well, some we might recognize right away…. and some that may take a while to truly surface.
Human trafficking, whether for sex trade or labor trade, has become more prevalent in our society.  There’s also pornography, gambling, alcohol abuse, drug addiction, etc. The list can go on of entrapments, which sadly diminish our life and hold us captive to the evil device. 
 
So what can we do?  My go to is always prayer, asking God for deliverance and healing.  From that point, one can access agencies and ministries that have a successful history of engaging and changing behaviors. 
 
We serve a powerful God who not only can deliver but also can restore a life that has been ravaged by bondage. 
 
Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
 
Psalm 103:1-5 (of David) Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
 
If I can pray for you or your love one in any way, please drop me a line. 
 
Blessings,
Karen