It is a sore trial when a man, seeking to walk quietly with his God, finds himself suddenly enmeshed in the tangles of other men’s sin. The world is indeed fallen, and the fowler’s snare lies where we least suspect it. What seemed a harmless path has brought you into a thicket of trouble, not of your own choosing, and now your soul pants for the plain way again. I do not wonder at your prayer for a smoothing out, for a return to a normal pattern of life. The child of God longs for the green pastures and the still waters, not for the thorny byways where the noise of archers makes the wells of comfort hard to draw from.
Yet let me press this home to you: nothing touches your life but it must first pass through the nail-pierced hand of your Redeemer. The providence that permitted this entanglement was not asleep. The Lord has a design even in these unwelcome intrusions. Perhaps you are permitted to taste the bitter fruit of another’s folly to teach you a holy caution, to make you watchful where you set your feet, lest you be unequally yoked with unbelief. The kindness of your heart may be drawn upon, but wisdom must ever sit sentinel at the door of love. Learn to say a firm “No” when the Spirit whispers that a seemingly innocent matter may lead to a snare. It is far easier to keep the garment clean than to wash out the stain after it is fallen into the mire.
But what is done cannot be undone by fretting. Cast this whole tangled mess upon the Lord who careth for you. He has said, “Deliver him from going down to the Pit.” That deliverance is not only from eternal ruin, but from the pits we dig for ourselves by an unwary step, and from the pits the wicked dig for us. Cry to Him to overrule these complications for your good and His glory. He can make even the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder He can restrain. He can smooth that which is rough, and untangle the knotted thread of providential affliction with a single word. Wait on Him, and do not rush to cut the knot with your own wisdom, lest you spill more sorrow.
But a deeper matter stirs in my heart for you. Is it not possible that in this unwelcome intrusion you are being called to examine your own walk? The devil would use such things to draw you away from the simplicity of devotion to Christ, to make you fretful, distrustful, or even to tempt you to compromise. Hear the voice of your Beloved saying, “Return, return.” Not that you have turned back to the world, but that you have allowed the world’s noise to drown the music of His voice. In the desire for a normal pattern of life, seek first the establishment of your soul in Christ, and then the outward calm will follow as its fruit. Remember, the true deliverance from the power of darkness is not a mere smoothing of circumstances, but a deeper work of sanctification, making you more than a conqueror through Him that loved you.
Take courage. The Lord who delivered you from the guilt of sin will also deliver you from the power of these present entanglements. You shall yet stand in the places of drawing water and laugh at the noise of archers, for you shall find your wells cleared and your peace abundant. Let this trial be a memorial to His praise when He brings you out. Then you shall declare His works, and your own soul shall be enriched with a fresh experience of His rescuing love. Only trust Him, and go forward, knowing that the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
