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The Little Foxes
Defeating the Little Foxes
by Inspiration Ministries
Hello,
dear friend.
I
don’t know what you are going through today, but I want you to remember how
near the Lord is to you.
Don’t
make the mistake of thinking He is far off and unconcerned about the details of
your life.
Even
when it might seem like He is distant, He knows
exactly what is happening every moment of your day.
Do
you realize how great God’s love is for you? He loves you so much that He won’t
let you go…ever!
He
longs to give you good things and desires to be your closest Friend.
But
in order to draw closer and closer to God, you must develop an increasingly
intimate relationship with Him.
God
is a holy God, and He desires for us to be a holy people, set apart for Him.
Perhaps
you’ve already discovered that the closer you get to the Lord, the more
apparent your sins become.
Yes,
as you come into His presence each day, He wants to help you get rid of all the
“ugly stuff” in your life. That’s because He wants your communion with Him to
be complete and uninterrupted.
Dealing with “Little” Sins
Sometimes I meet Christians who seem to have dealt with
the “big” sin areas that once held them bound, yet they’re still not
experiencing the peace and joy available to us in Christ.
This used to be puzzling to me, but I think I’ve
discovered part of the reason in Song of Solomon 2:15, which describes “the little foxes that spoil the vine.”
This is such an appropriate word picture of the “little”
sins that often take root in our lives - sins we don’t even recognize anymore.
Awhile
back, I studied an inspiring devotional commentary on the Song of Solomon by
Esher Shoshannah, called I Love You With All My Heart, Always, Jesus.
Esher
describes the little foxes in this way:
“Little foxes are known for their crafty, devious natures,
hence the expression, ‘sly as a fox!’ They love grapes, and by nipping away at
the tender shoots they can destroy whole vineyards. O the ugliness that little
foxes bring into our lives. How it hurts the heart of the Lord Jesus.
“He gave us everything necessary to keep our life lovely,
pure and holy before Him (1 Corinthians 7:1, 2 Peter
1:3-4). Then our sinful nature rises up and
wants its way. This opens the door for a little fox to come into our life and
distract our vision of Him.”
Esher
then gets very specific about what these little foxes look like:
“Is there a little fox in your life robbing you of the
awareness of His consuming ‘first love’ for you
and robbing Him of your once, all-consuming ‘first love’ for Him? Is there an
unconfessed sin in your walk: a habit, anger, bitterness, divorce, envy, fear,
gossip, jealousy, lies, lust, impatience, worry, depression, discouragement,
doubt, swearing or unforgiveness, etc.?
“Right now, confess it and repent of it so that the vine
and grapes will not be destroyed. O do not let the tender grape and its
wonderful fragrance be spoiled. How ready He is to forgive and restore you (1 John
1:1-10)!”
This
is very challenging, isn’t it?
My
goal is to be surrendered to Christ every moment of every day of my life, and I
know my obedience won’t be wasted.
Saying “No” to Sin
Often the little foxes become entrenched in lives as
habits and lifestyles, as Esher describes:
“We
get used to them. After a while we think we have to have them. They have become
a habit, yet they are slowly destroying us spiritually. How could they be so
destructive? So often we do not even recognize that sin has crept in and
severed precious fellowship with our “Beloved Jesus! Slowly, ever so slowly,
the ‘little’ sin eats away at our
soul like a slow-growing cancer…
“Then one day your whole world caves in! You desperately
seek the answers as to why and how it all happened. Despair and coldness set
in. It all began with that ‘little’
fox, that ‘little’ leaven, that
seemingly harmless ‘little’ sin (1
Corinthians 5:6). You look at
spiritual leaven and ask yourself, ‘What harm can a little sin be?’ DEAR
READER, BEWARE, TAKE HEED, get rid of the foxes before your usefulness for the
Lord will be destroyed!
Even if you feel as though you don’t have the strength to
fight, I have great news, dear friend: The Lord hasn’t left us alone to fight
this battle of overcoming sin. When we pray in faith, embrace His truth, walk
in His peace, and use His Word as a sword, the Lord does the fighting for us!
When
we choose to say “no” to whatever sin attracts us, the Holy Spirit steps in and
does the rest.
Each
time we’re faced with a temptation, we must stand on a promise of God and speak
it out against the enemy’s attack.
As
we do this, we will walk in victory, and we can count on God to graciously
renew His mercy to us every morning (Lamentations
3:21-23).
Dear
friend, I believe there are great things ahead for you, and I’m trusting God to
bring them to pass in your life.
You
can defeat the little foxes in Jesus’ mighty name!
Your
friend on the journey,
Barbara
Barbara Cerullo is devoted to authentically sharing God’s love
with women. She authors From Barbara’s Heart, where her
spiritual insights, heartwarming family stories, and delightful anecdotes
encourage readers with God’s faithfulness. Her husband, David, is CEO of Inspiration Ministries.
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