Little Foxes

"Catch the foxes for us, the  little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom"  Song of Solomon 2:12, ESV

Vineyards and wine are usually  meant to represent celebration and rejoicing in the bible. In this case,  Solomon's beloved is addressing him. Even though this passage is addressing  the marital relationship, I firmly believe that it can be applied to all  aspects of life, not just marriage and sex.

So vineyards, in that sense, represents  those things in life that are enjoyable. The foxes then represent things  that are unpleasant or undesirable. Now, there are a lot of things in life  that are unpleasant, but we can not "catch" (or control) a lot  of them. At this point in my life, it represents anger, frustration, intolerance,  fear, insecurities, and such. These qualities are destroying my vineyard  one day, one event, at a time, and that is NOT acceptable.

Are you OK with these little foxes  spoiling your life? Do you let them run wild and ruing your relationships,  your marriage, your job?

Men and women have to catch their  own foxes. However, in the context of marriage, note that Solomon's beloved  asked HIM to catch the foxes "for us." It is the husband's responsibility  to do the hunting in this case, for the sake of the marriage, but what  are we hunting?

"For we do not wrestle against  flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against  the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces  of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12, ESV

We are hunting demons! Those demons  that incite us towards selfishness, anger, pride, and every form of sin.  And how do we fight them? By reaching ever closer to Christ.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit,  and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians  3:17

Today I want to challenge you to  take a look at your heart. Do you see these forces at work within you?  Can you find any trace of selfishness, pride, anger, bitterness, or any  other form of sin there? If you are like everyone else I've ever met, you  would have answered yes to all those previous questions. If so, I encourage  you to reach out to God, ask Him for help in reaching ever closer to Him,  learning how to walk in his presence every day, in freedom!