The Little Foxes

Song of Solomon 2:15 - "Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom."

My amazing father-in-law, Bishop Donnie Hill, preached for us in our evening service this past Sunday. In his sermon, he used the illustration of a vineyard to represent our lives. One verse that he mentioned that I hold near and dear to my heart was Song of Solomon 2:15.
As you can read above, this scripture talks about foxes. Creatures like foxes are notorious for destroying vineyards and gardens. They are a menace to a hard-working gardener, because they like to feast on the produce from the garden - robbing the worker from his reward. I love how the Lord made sure that we knew that it wasn't the bigger foxes that were destroying the garden - it was the little, seemingly insignificant foxes that were causing the damage.
How often in our lives do we allow "little foxes" to destroy us. Bishop Hill stated in his sermon that the way these little foxes spoil the vineyard is, because of their size, they have to jump to catch the grapes off the vine. By doing this, they continually are pulling at the vine and end up doing more damage than a larger fox that can get to the grapes more easily. The little foxes in our lives serve one purpose, and that is to steal the fruit that we bear from the One we bear it for. In the gospel of John scripture says, "He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more." Producing fruit in our spiritual lives is highly important to the Lord. In fact His word says that every branch of our lives that doesn't produce fruit will be cut off completely. It's cut off, because it's no use to the Lord. That's a scary thought to think that I could potentially be of no use to the Lord, because my life doesn't show the characteristics of someone that claims to be a follower of him. God takes this very seriously and, likewise, so should we. What are these fruits? They can be found in Galatians 5: 22-23 - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Does my life show these fruits to the best of my ability? Is there something in me that needs to be cut off so that I can be of use to the Father?
Another reason these little foxes cause so much damage is because they are hard to catch. They are quick little guys that, because of their size, can hide in small burrows that might be hard to detect. I know in my own life, sometimes out of no where an old feeling or insecurity can creep up and, if I don't take care of it right then, can lead to serious damage and destruction. We have to have our eyes open and on constant surveillance for these foxes. They may come in the form of lies from the devil, insecurities, guiltiness from past sin, or seeds of bitterness that we just haven't quite given up yet. No matter what they are, they must be caught and destroyed.
How do you destroy these little foxes? I did a little research on this subject and I found 4 ways to get rid of foxes in a garden. 1 - Cover the garden with a fence. In our lives this "fence" would be prayer, worship, and Bible reading. The fence has to be sturdy and strong and must always be kept in tact. In the same manner, so should our personal relationship with the Lord. 2 - Keep your garden clean. Living a clean life is a characteristic of a Christian. In Psalm 51, David wrote, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." We have to make sure the things we do in public and more so in private exemplify that of a follower of God. Will we make mistakes? ABSOLUTELY! I'm the first one to admit that, but we must pick ourselves up, repent, and allow God to clean us up so that we can keep the foxes out of our garden. 3 - Buy a dog. The people we surround ourselves with should be those that will help us keep our garden/lives at their best for the Lord. A dog protects a garden. It doesn't allow destroyers to come and hurt the growth of the produce. Those that are closest to us need to be encouraging people that will help us reach our goal of bringing glory to God. Sometimes the people we allow in our lives may seem to be a dog that will help defend our vineyard, but in reality they may be a fox also, only out for selfish gain. We must be able to detect the difference. 4 - Call a wildlife control officer. Sometimes, foxes can just get out of control and at that point, it's time to call a higher authority - one that knows more about getting rid of foxes than you. In our times of distress, when we feel that we are about to go under, when we just can take it anymore, all we have to do is cry out to our great God and he will answer us in his loving, compassionate, and gentle way. He will rescue us in our time of need, pick us back up, dust us off, and set us up for growth and beauty again.
I don't know what your "little foxes" are. I know mine and I must keep daily, vigilant watch to make sure they are not consuming that which belongs to my Father. God wants to make something beautiful of our lives for his glory. It's time to kill off all things that don't help us bless him. Don't be fooled, don't be tricked, don't be complacent toward these little foxes - destroy them now so you will have a bountiful life now and in the days to come.