By Enuma Chigbo
“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” (Songs of Solomon 2:15)
This scripture for the past few weeks, months or even years has been incubating in the womb of my mind. In fairly recent times more thoughts have grown too, thoughts I am a tad bit reluctant or even ashamed to put on paper. These thoughts, I would liken to weeds which must be uprooted.
I will give some kind of hint though. I have projects that never seem to take off no matter how hard I try. Then to my utter disappointment, I see similar projects not just take off, but receive innumerable accolades. Then the questions begin, “How is this better than mine?” “Why is my own case different?” The questions go on and on.
Somewhere along the line, I am exposed to some root causes of why these projects never seem to take off, such as extreme manipulations of the enemy. Being justified, there is a deep desire to bring these forces and people behind them to book. Somehow, this feeling grows, and grows and yet another stronghold is born.
This is what the devil wants.
Have you ever felt oppressed by forces you may have little or no control of? Worse still, you have to watch others do the same thing you desire to do with so much ease and grace? How does that make you feel? Insecure, resentful, frustrated, and numb, when it comes to celebrating others are simply minuscule proportions of the negatives that could emanate.
This is what the devil wants.
Let’s look at the scripture in question.
“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.”
Some versions read, “Beware the little foxes,” The fox is used figuratively here. Though foxes have many positive attributes, going by the fables we read as children, the recurring word you will find in its characteristic is cunning. Foxes are very picky eaters and have a unique method of hunting their prey. I smile as I write this because, our amazing Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ‘christened’ Herod with this word.
Herod the fox and his entire lineage fell in line with the agenda of destroying God’s chosen. In some cases, the manner in which some of them did so was as cunning as their ‘brother’ in the animal kingdom.
“Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” (Mathew 2:7-9)
Herod was bent on killing Jesus Christ in infancy, but cleverly disguised it. And when that plan failed, his rage cost a large number of women their babies.
Now, let’s look at the second part of the very first scripture. The grapes are the fruit of the vine. They are fresh and tender, just like the visions and dreams the Lord may have deposited in us. And then come the little foxes in their unique subtle ways, with an agenda to spoil that freshness, akin to destroying a child in infancy, or killing a vision before it ever gets to see the light of day. They leave a myriad of negative feelings in their victims – feelings of revenge, despair and paranoia to name a few. In this state, if care is not taken it would be quite easy to be pulled into their cesspool, and this is where compromise peeps or seeps through as it were, yet another platform or foundation for false justification. “After all it was done to me, why can I not do it to another?”
This is what the devil wants.
This tells me, that you may be called by God for a specific purpose. The burden you may have to bear with this unique calling is extreme opposition which could come in form of little foxes. In this place, one has to be very careful and mindful of the subtlety of these foxes so as not to be caught unawares. Yes, it may seem like an incredible burden to bear, but burdens will always be removed at the right time. Indeed it is written, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” (Isaiah 10:27)
Indeed, His words are spirit and life: His word is true. So let’s bear this in mind when the little foxes rear their head. This way, we adopt the literary principle of positive punishment by giving the devil that which he does not want.
… Chigbo, a journalist writes from America
