“Catch us the foxes…that spoil the vines…Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away…Turn, my Beloved” (Song of Solomon 2:15).
Yesterday I caught a glimpse of a small, slinky creature sneaking through an untended portion of my garden’s fence. Today, as I inspect the budding blossoms near the fence, I see that many are gone and some are half-eaten. Yesterday was when that fox needed to be caught…before he destroyed the fruit of my vine.
Compromise nips at the fruit blossoms in our spiritual garden like a fox. Fleshly habits destroy the beauty of the vine. When we befriend the foxes in our lives, the gifts from our Beloved become stolen property of the enemy. We become an accomplice to the thief.
Unbelief, fear, selfishness—these sly creatures are too weighty for a journey with the King. They hinder me from leaping with Him upon the mountains. This time I cannot go with Him because I am not able. Instead, my Beloved will bound upon the hills of these obstacles in my life and conquer them. He is the One who will remove all that hinders love, all that hinders radical obedience to Him, all that holds me back.
*Beloved Mighty One, my giving in to compromise has failed to satisfy Your heart. You have not asked me to remove anything that brings life, only what brings death and destruction. Go, my Beloved, and establish Your rule in my heart. Possess my garden as Your very own. Remove the foxes…I am unable.*
© Sharon Gonzales. March 23, 2015.
Image courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn FreeDigitalPhotos.net