The Little Foxes That Spoil The Vines

Peter Jenkins, author of the bestselling travelogue “A Walk across America”, began his walk in Alfred, New York in October 1973. He finished six years later in Florence, Oregon on January 1979. In his book, he wrote about all the difficulties he went through in the journey. These included being bitten by a dog and knocked over by a car, but he pressed on in spite of many terrible tropical storms and persevered through bitter cold weather. When a reporter asked him what was the most challenging factor that could have caused him to quit, his answer was surprising. It was the grains of sand that got caught in his shoe throughout the long journey. The resulting blisters on his feet and pain they caused with every step he took almost broke his will to continue the journey.

Likewise, in our Christian walk and ministry, often what cripple us are not the major crises in our lives nor the huge obstacles we face along the way. On the contrary, what cause us to abandon our spiritual journey are those minor sinful habits left unchecked, as well as our failure to deal with small doses of irritation, resentment or anger. If we do not surrender them to the Lord and become cleansed by His blood, they will slowly but surely erode our faith and commitment to God. These tiny grains of discouragement, moral indiscretion or neglect are like “the little foxes that spoil the vines” in Song of Solomon 2:15. They draw us away from the Lord, and finally, cripple our trust in Him and our commitment to His calling. If left unchecked, they could ruin our testimony and our ministry.

So, let’s come daily to the loving Heavenly Father in humility and sincere repentance, and ask Him to remove these grains of sin, resentment, pride and discouragement from our hearts. Let’s get rid of them so we can once again run the race for the Lord!

- Senior Pastor Lawrence Khong

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