우리에 갇혀 있다가 풀려난 Freed from Our Cage

[주재현]

2월 13일 •목요일

우리에 갇혀 있다가 풀려난 Freed from Our Cage

성경읽기: 레 14; 마 26:51-75

새찬송가: 268(통 202)

오늘의 성경말씀 시편 18:3-6, 16-19

[하나님께서] 나를 넓은 곳으로 인도하시고 - 시편 18:19

작가 마틴 레어드는 밖에서 산책할 때 네 마리의 케리 블루 테리어를 데리고 다니는 어떤 남자와 종종 마주쳤습니다. 그 중 세 마리는 넓은 공간을 마음대로 뛰어다녔는데, 한 마리는 주인 가까이에 머물면서 작은 원을 그리며 뛰어다녔습니다. 레어드가 마침내 멈추어 이런 이상한 행동에 대해 물어보자, 주인은 그 개는 대부분의 삶을 우리에 갇혀 살다가 구조된 개라고 설명해주었습니다. 그 테리어는 마치 비좁은 상자 안에 들어있는 것처럼 계속 원을 그리며 뛰었습니다.

성경은 하나님께서 우리를 구원해 주시지 않으면 우리는 덫에 걸려서 소망이 없는 처지와 같다고 말합니다. 시편 기자는 자기를 두르고 있는 “사망의 올무”와 “사망의 줄”에 얽매여 적에게 시달리고 있다고 했습니다(시편 18:4-5). 갇히고 구속된 그는 하나님께 부르짖으며 도움을 청했습니다(6절). 그때 하나님은 대단한 권능으로 “손을 펴서 그를 붙잡아 주셨습니다”(16절).

하나님은 우리에게도 똑같이 하실 수 있습니다. 그분은 사슬을 깨부수어 우리를 가두는 우리에서 풀어주시고, 우리를 자유롭게 하여 “넓은 곳으로” 인도해 주십니다(19절). 그러나 우리가 여전히 감옥에 갇힌 것처럼 계속 작은 원을 그리며 뛴다면 그 얼마나 슬픈 일일까요. 주님의 능력 안에서 우리가 더 이상 두려움과 수치와 억압에 얽매이지 않기를 바랍니다. 하나님께서 그 사망의 우리에 갇힌 우리들을 구원해 주셨습니다. 우리는 자유롭게 맘껏 뛸 수 있습니다. - Winn Collier

당신은 어떤 우리에 갇혀 있습니까? 옛 우리에 여전히 갇혀 있는 것처럼 살아가고 있지는 않습니까?

하나님, 하나님은 갇힌 자들을 자유롭게 하셨다고 말씀하십니다. 제가 그것을 믿고, 그렇게 살도록 도와주소서. 자유롭고 싶습니다. 주님의 넒은 품안에 있고 싶습니다.

시편 18:3-6, 16-19

3. 내가 찬송 받으실 여호와께 아뢰리니 내 원수들에게서 구원을 얻으리로다

4. 사망의 줄이 나를 얽고 불의의 창수가 나를 두렵게 하였으며

5. 스올의 줄이 나를 두르고 사망의 올무가 내게 이르렀도다

6. 내가 환난 중에서 여호와께 아뢰며 나의 하나님께 부르짖었더니 그가 그의 성전에서 내 소리를 들으심이여 그의 앞에서 나의 부르짖음이 그의 귀에 들렸도다

16. 그가 높은 곳에서 손을 펴사 나를 붙잡아 주심이여 많은 물에서 나를 건져내셨도다

17. 나를 강한 원수와 미워하는 자에게서 건지셨음이여 그들은 나보다 힘이 세기 때문이로다

18. 그들이 나의 재앙의 날에 내게 이르렀으나 여호와께서 나의 의지가 되셨도다

19. 나를 넓은 곳으로 인도하시고 나를 기뻐하시므로 나를 구원하셨도다

Freed from Our Cage

[God] brought me out into a spacious place. Psalm 18:19

While out taking walks, writer Martin Laird would often encounter a man with four Kerry Blue Terriers. Three of the dogs ran wild through the open fields, but one stayed near its owner, running in tight circles. When Laird finally stopped and asked about this odd behavior, the owner explained that it was a rescue dog that had spent most of his life locked in a cage. The terrier continued to run in circles as though contained inside a confined box.

The Scriptures reveal that we’re trapped and hopeless unless God rescues us. The psalmist spoke of being afflicted by an enemy, entrapped by “the snares of death” with the “cords of death . . . coiled around” him (Psalm 18:4–5). Enclosed and shackled, he cried to God for help (v. 6). And with thundering power, He “reached down . . . and took hold” of him (v. 16).

God can do the same for us. He can break the chains and release us from our confining cages. He can set us free and carry us “out into a spacious place” (v. 19). How sad it is, then, when we keep running in small circles, as if we’re still confined in our old prisons. In His strength, may we no longer be bound by fear, shame, or oppression. God has rescued us from those cages of death. We can run free. — Winn Collier

What are the cages that have you confined? How are you living as though an old cage still traps and holds you?

God, You say You set the captives free. Help me to believe it. Help me to live it. I want to be free. I want to be in Your spacious place.