Waldo by Robin Densmore Fuson

 

Are you stuck? Do you feel trapped? Are you in bondage? 

Where’s Waldo? I look for him every day. He’s taken up residence in our lanai. Waldo is the name I gave our new lizard friend. I look for him, so he doesn't startle me.

He showed up a few weeks ago and hasn’t left. Waldo is a prisoner of his making. He could get out the way he came in. I guess he came in under the wall where the drain tracks flow. Or he timed it when the screen door opened.

Yesterday, he had a friend. They chased each other on the screen—one on the outside and Waldo on the inside. Unable to touch—yet so close.

Waldo went where he shouldn’t and now he’s trapped. He could get out but that would take more effort on his part. He’d need to sneak out through the open door but he’d have to be present there to do so and time it. Or he could remember how he got in and backtrack.

He could let us pick him up and take him outside.

The lanai feels like the outside with two sides and part of the ceiling screened. Smells like outside. He has water and an occasional fly or bug to eat. Potted plants are available to sleep in. Maybe he has decided he likes it there.

We do this same thing to ourselves. We get stuck. It could be an opinion, mindset, attitude, or a blatant sin.

We got caught up and now we’re trapped. We may feel comfortable thinking the way we do or acting a certain way. Or perhaps a sin has captured us. We can’t seem to free ourselves.

Does Waldo know he is a prisoner?

Do we know we are in bondage to sin?

My anger can flair up and take control. I can choose to stay there and let it become a pattern or I can break free from that snare.

Sin takes us farther than we want to go. It ensnares us.

My late husband was in a prison of his making. He became an alcoholic. Then he lied to cover it. He knew it was wrong but he said, “I like it.” He didn’t try to get help. He didn’t try to get out of the walls of his alcoholic sin. He felt comfortable in his bondage.

What do we do if we find ourselves captive?

Be open and acknowledge our issue. Call out to the Lord. Ask for His help. Find someone to talk to and find a trustworthy accountability partner. Get professional help. Be willing to break out of the chains, the cage, or the walls that hold us. We need to let the Lord pick us up and get us out of the sin pattern. Don’t be a Waldo.

Then Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

“But we are descendants of Abraham,” They said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:31-34 nlt).

My prayer: “Lord, please help us not to be like Waldo. Help us recognize we are held in bondage to sin. Show us where we sin so we can break free. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”