We moved to our small, quiet town thirty seven years ago. The town has grown since and so has our family, but for the most part – the town remains quiet.
It was quite a surprise to wake up one recent Saturday to an incident which had been ongoing since the wee hours of the night. Men on the side of the highway near by, described as an armed militia group, had shut down the highway in both directions for hours. With two from the group arrested, the remaining were at large in the woods and traveling on foot.
Thankfully, after a standoff which lasted several hours, the incident came to a peaceful resolution with no one being hurt.
One never knows what lurks during the wee hours of the night.
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While walking family to their car in our driveway the other night, my husband called to me to go to the windows and see what was in our yard.
There down by the woods which border our property stood a fox. He was moseying, stopping now and then, but definitely in no hurry to go back to where he had come, or to move onto a neighbor’s yard.
Over the years we have lived here, we have enjoyed on a daily basis the bunnies, the woodchucks, the birds, and the turkeys. On lesser and rarer occasions, we have seen a fox, a coyote, a wolf, and skunk.
I stood awestruck at the fox sighting – he truly is beautiful with his red fur and long, bushy tail.
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One never knows what is happening right in one’s town, sometimes, right in one’s own backyard. As I watched the fox creeping low as he went across the yard, I wondered how much of a threat he would be to people.
A Scripture came to mind, turning the pages, the words were before me:
“Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom.” (Song of Solomon 2:15, NASB)
The foxes in the vineyards would get in and feed off the grapes, thus ruining the harvest. The vineyard keepers would tie up the branches so the foxes could not reach them, for they are animals that feed low to the ground.
In this allegory, the foxes represent threats to relationships, and now they had my full attention. While Solomon was referring to marital relationships needing protection, I wondered about what other damage do we need to keep in mind.
God called the prophet Ezekiel to bring a word against the prophets:
“Thus says the Lord God, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing. O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins. You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord.” (Ezekiel 13:3-5, NASB)
God was warning of some false prophets who were spreading lies to the people in order to mislead them. The words they spoke were for self-care purposes, and sparked fear among the people. The words were empty promises which appealed to the people but could not deliver.
May we strengthen ourselves in God’s Word, knowing His promises and living in the assurance of Who He is. May we allow His Word to surround our thoughts and minds like a wall around a fortress. And may we remember:
“The Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”
(Isaiah 52:12, NASB)
“Live every day with hope.” We hear this often throughout the course of our lives. In her post, “What Hope Can Do“, Tammy Kennington shares a guest post in which a mom shares of the lessons she learned in the middle of loss and grief – “Our son taught me many lessons about courage, faith, perseverance, and hope” (Fran Caffey Sandin).
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Photo by Erik Karits on Unsplash
Today I am joining …
It is so important to be aware of those “foxes” and to strengthen our minds with God’s word and his promises. Thanks for this encouragement.
Loved reading about your homeplace and the lessons you drew from those fiery OT prophets!
Hi Joanne, your post is so true and timeous. There are so many little foxes out there right now. Little things that ruin your faith walk. Here, in South Africa at the moment there is a huge factional fight going on and much is being destroyed in its wake. And this, on top of all the lockdown scenarios. So, its easy to fall into the usual rhetoric, the usual name calling, the usual judgements. But… these little foxes destroy our witness, our faith, our relationships. A reminder I needed this morning. Thank you
God bless
Tracy
Tracy, I have been following the events in South Africa, along with events in other parts of the world as well. So much upheaval. May we remain steadfast in our faith and hope through Christ. Praying for you this morning.
Having a standoff situation so close must have been really scary. Glad it all worked out okay. How neat to see wildlife close to your place.
I so agree with what you wrote, especially the last paragraph. Satan attempts to undermine our faith or distract us from truth on all sides. How we need God’s Word to strengthen and protect us and keep us on the right path.
Having grown up in the Bronx, I love seeing wildlife in my yard. I never tire of the sightings. And the truths they bring to mind!
And, to think you slept through that? Kind of scary.
We’ve never had that big of a stand off, but some who have been hunting coyote have been around and chasing. I’m never how it turns out. I know hearing them of a night time is eery. They say keep your animals close especiall when coyote are mating or they could get killed. So true on the foxes in the henhouse as they say, and people who charmingly mislead. My prayer is always for discernment. Thanks for the coffee chat. 🙂
I so agree with you, Peabea. I pray for discernment every morning.
Wow, Joanne, so much for a quiet town!!! Loved the object lesson about the foxes; the connection to relationships AND for the need to beware of false prophets!
Wow, I’ve never seen a fox except for a taxidermized one in biology class. It sounds a bit scary. Those verses are remarkable. Yes, people are often spreading false teachings, even teachings that sound positive. I’m so glad I found your post!
Awww…the crafty fox! Yes, we must beware indeed!
Thank you!
So grateful that God is our fortress and protector. Nothing can sneak up and surprise Him, He’s never off guard.
What a wonderful Savior!
I so appreciate your comment, Linda, as God is never taken by surprise ever. I remind myself of this truth often.
Such a timely post, Joanne. It’s hard to know who’s telling the truth and who is deceiving us (maybe even unintentionally) these days, even among people who call themselves Christians. I pray frequently that God would send his light and truth to lead me and my ones. As for local wildlife, I was sitting on the back deck of my very suburban house the other day and a deer jumped over my neighbor’s fence and ran across her yard! I was quite thankful it hadn’t come through my yard … I’m pretty sure I would have spit out my morning coffee!
Lois, I have been praying for discernment for years. Truth be told, nothing scares me more than the thought of being deceived. God is faithful to lead us in truth, His truth. We have had a few deer come through and they always amaze me when they leap over the bushes between our yard and our neighbor’s. Their grace and agility always bring verses to mind 🙂
Amen!!
That standoff situation sounds scary.
Loved this post, and its message.
Thanks for sharing.