What Are Your Foxes?

At the end of each year, we make resolutions and set goals for the new year. These resolutions are things we would change or improve about ourselves. They could range from health to financial goals. Today, I would like to talk about our spiritual goals. What resolutions are we making to improve spiritually? To set spiritual goals, we must identify the areas in our lives where change or improvement is needed. We must ask ourselves if there are patterns in which we always find ourselves. What are our weaknesses or proclivities? What are the things that keep us from growing closer to God?

The past few years have been spiritually challenging for me; they have been transitional in some ways but stagnant in others. I have found myself in periods of spiritual progression and dry places. I have found myself being almost all in but retreating in areas that remind me of my broken places. I’ve been asking God to show me what has hindered me from reaching my full potential in all areas of my life. He asked me, “What are the small foxes in your life?” I had to be honest and call those things by name. One of them has been emotional bondage due to the hurts I have experienced over the last 5 years of my life. As a result, I have not been able to love freely and fully because when anything resembling things in the past arises, I disconnect or distance myself. I have been hesitant to form new relationships and try hard to protect myself by setting boundaries in my interactions. There is one problem with this. The call on my life doesn’t allow me to do so and serve God wholeheartedly. How can God use me the way He desires with a wall up? Can I love on God’s people as He requires if I’m analyzing every detail of all of my relationships to keep from being hurt? The answer is simple. I can’t. How do I know this? Because I have tried to figure out a way to do so. Unfortunately, it just won’t work.

When we fail to identify the “small foxes” in our lives, we are bound to fall into sinful patterns or back into familiar, unproductive habits.

Song of Solomon 2:15

Catch for us the foxes—
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyards are in bloom.

In Song of Solomon 2:15, the Shulamite woman and her beloved are professing their love for one another. They mention the need to catch the foxes that ruin their vineyards. The vineyards are blossoming and fragrant in verse 13. Such is symbolic of the thriving love between the two. The foxes represent anything that may threaten or destroy their love before their marriage. Likewise, when we have foxes in our lives left unchecked, our relationship with God is threatened. When we don’t address those things or take steps necessary to protect our relationship with God, destruction happens. The promises of God get postponed because we are out of alignment with His truths. We should be like the two lovers. We should be proactively commanding that the “foxes” are exposed and destroyed. We should want our vineyards to flourish and stay connected to the True Vine until the day we see the bridegroom.

Although the foxes may be small, they are still capable of causing damage if they go unchecked or overlooked. Our relationship with God takes work just like any other relationship. We have to be vigilant and intentional in doing all we can to maintain a thriving relationship with the Father, so we can be free to love and grow. 

Every new day and year presents us with the opportunity to become more like Christ and a better person. Let us resolve to do the work necessary to be ready for His return.

Lamentations 3:22-23

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Praise be to God whose love and mercies never end; who is faithful to give His children new beginnings. 

Happy New Year!

Let Us Pray: 

Our Father, in heaven, we thank you for your faithfulness and love. We are thankful that you desire nothing less than the best for us. Lord, we know that there are things that you require of us. We ask that you open our eyes to every fox that threatens to destroy your blossoming promises in our lives. Allow your Spirit to shine the light in those dark, hidden places. Father, bring them to our attention. Please give us the wisdom to address our shortcomings and the courage to lay them at your feet. Close any cracks in our lives that the enemy has used to creep in and deter us from our paths. 

Lord, we declare that 2021 will be the year of spiritual progression and increase. May this be the year of dead foxes and bountiful vineyards. Let there be rain in dry places and healing in the broken places. So, you can get the glory out of our lives as we can walk out your purpose for us. 

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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