The Little Foxes

It’s the little foxes, said Solomon, who ruin the vineyard (Song of Solomon 2:15). This saying is true and worthy of all acceptance.

It’s also a good analogy of the way sin operates, and the way that life’s ordinary circumstances can bring us to our knees. Big things do happen. But, like the farmer who spends 40 years fencing and then does his back in while bending over to untie his shoelace, it’s the accumulation of little things that finally overwhelm us.

It’s a saying among my children that the whole Bible can be summed up in one sentence:

Kill the dragon and get the girl.

It’s what Jesus did definitively at the cross in order to win His bride and it’s what we are taught to do as His disciples ( Matthew 7:5, 2 Corinthians 10:5) .

The problem is, we are inclined to take aim at the sea monsters, which are easy to spot, while overlooking all the little foxes. This is true of our sins, and generally true in life.

So, the pie-eating, unemployed 31-year-old man looks in the mirror, sees his pimple-ridden face and feels miserable. He feels the chances of getting anywhere in life are decreasing with each annual Mario Cart Gaming Convention. No man wants to hire him and no girl wants to marry him.

But the monster he thinks he sees before him is the result of one hundred little foxes.

This is actually good news. Together, these foxes appear formidable. But one by one, they might just be conquerable.

Ok, so his diet is rubbish. But what if he just tackled one of those bad eating habits. One that he doesn’t care to lose that much. What if he conquered his craving for iced doughnuts or chocolate milkshakes for just one day.

Just one day.

Just one day. This is how Jesus tells us to live. And there is good reason for it.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:34)

One day at a time, one little fox at a time, is how things get done in our lives.

Perhaps your walk with Christ has stalled and you’re feeling weak. The early gains and early victories seem so distant and any future progress or sanctification seems like a far off dream.

But what would it feel like to get just one small victory over the next hour, or day, or week?

From no prayer to five minutes of prayer? From no church attendance, to just one hour this Sunday?

These are victories the enemy would rather you didn’t contemplate. He would rather stand you in front of the mirror and shove the whole mess in your face. Like the man standing in a dark and filthy house, our enemy would like to turn all the lights on at once in order to bring us to despair.

But thanks be to God. He is patient with sinners like us and more often than not, His Holy Spirit only turns on one light at a time.

Maybe you only have enough strength for the weakest of those little foxes in your life. Do not despise the day of small beginnings (Zechariah 4:6,10). Go ahead. What one thing could you do, or not do, today, no matter how seemingly small, in order for you to start turning things around?

Pick a fox and slay it. Rip it’s little head off and rejoice. And in that joy, find the strength that God promises to provide so that you can tackle the next little fox you encounter.

Better to tackle the easiest thing on the right path than to be on the wrong path facing Giants. There will be time enough for giants. For now, leave them to Jesus. Leave them at the foot of the cross while you go off and topple a little fox and be glad.