Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. (Song of Songs 2:15)
Your heart blossoms and you feel God’s work within you. Satan watches, knowing you will resist his sinful ideas if you spot it. Instead, He will use small foxes.
Foxes are smart animals, and when they are young and small, they can be quite sneaky. we will explore some sneaky Satin tricks that can actually sow the seeds of trouble, quietly infiltrating your heart and sabotaging your progress just when victory is near. The Bible urges us to resist these tricks. They may seem small at first, but they can grow and cause trouble.
Happy the one who takes and dashes, your little ones against the rock! (Psalms 137:9)
During your fight, it is crucial to consider your defense as well. You must be vigilant in identifying and addressing any weak points. Even something that may seem insignificant now might grow into a major issue that requires your attention. These “foxes” are small, sneaky, and notorious for Satin’s deceptive tricks. He consistently employs these tactics to mislead those on the right path. It is imperative to remain aware of this constant threat.
The presence of a small hole in a boat can lead to it filling up with water and sinking. It is crucial to plug the hole quickly and bring these minor issues into your prayers, allowing them to disappear in the light.
Too busy or tired to pray.
You now pray the Psalms every morning and night. However, one day you wake up late and rush off to work or school, forgetting to pray. The next day, you do the same thing. Surprisingly, during this time, Satan does not tempt you with any explicit images or push you towards pornography. Instead, he tricks you into thinking that you have prayed enough and now have the power to resist these temptations, even if you don’t pray every day.
Gradually, Satan changes his tactics. He orchestrates situations in your life, such as work, school, movies, and friends, that keep you up late at night. Although staying up late is not a sin, it becomes a seed for what is coming. You start to feel tired and begin to delay your prayers until the next day, and then the next day. Unperceived to you, Satan is dragging you away from God’s protection slowly.
Once you are away from God’s protection, Satan offers you those explicit images and tempting you. He reminds you of how pleasurable those feelings were. He brings up things that you would have rejected if you had maintained your prayer routine and stayed close to God. Now, you have let down your guard, and you are standing vulnerable in front of Satan’s arrows. It is highly likely that he will make you fall, and all he needed was a little fox in the beginning.
Prayer is a connection between you and the command center, which is run by an experienced God who chooses to be a father to you. He loves you, so it’s perfectly fine to express your fears to God. Say,
Jesus, you know how weak I am in this area. I haven’t prayed to you for two days, and I’m worried that this might be a way for Satan to pull me away from you. You know that I love you. Please accept my prayers, whether they come at a good or bad time. And please don’t let Satan sneak into my life like this. If I’m being lazy, help me with your fire. If I’m feeling weak, give me your strength. If I’m busy, please rearrange my day and schedule so that I can spend time with you. If you see me drifting away from you due to my weaknesses, pull me back to you like you did with Peter when he started sinking after walking on water. Above all, do not let me go.
Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. (Psalms 19:12)
Biased Translation
A common deceptive strategy involves misusing the Bible itself to convince people of something untrue. Satan intentionally misinterpreting the original text so people can believe in his tricks.
He did that with Jesus, tempting Him to throw Himself down from the temple, and telling Him that the Bible says
In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:12)
It’s true, the Bible said that, but Jesus also responded
It has been said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. (Luke 4:12)
He might remind you of a verse we discussed recently
the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. ( John 6:37)
Based on that, he will tell you it’s okay to indulge and visit porn sites, even if you stumble. God assures he will accept you and forgive you. Then, you need to counter by reminding him that the Bible also says:
Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. (Romans 11:22.)
He will then tell you that St. John said in the Bible,
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 2)
Emphasizing that achieving success requires relentless hard work day and night. He will urge you to work hard until exhaustion overcomes you and you fall asleep, causing you to wake up late and rush to work. However, his true intention is to separate you from prayer and render you defenseless and vulnerable. In response, answer him.
The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build (Nehemiah 2:20.)
and also that if you love God and pray, he will be with you the same way he was with Joseph
The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man (Genesis 39:2)
Overeating
Then he will continue by using your body, making you eat excessively and filling your stomach with food specially before sleeping. This can leave you feeling lethargic. It raises your body’s core temperature, potentially exciting you and causing erections, with or without sexual thoughts. This may lead to touching and further indulging in pornography. Eating itself is not a sin, but what follows can be seen as a minor temptation. Eating in moderation is beneficial for both your physical health and your spirit.
Drinking Alcohol
Another small fox is drinking wine, getting drunk. Wine is not a sin; Satan will tell you that the Bible says
All things are lawful for me (1 Corinthians 6:12 )
you can have some alcohol, Then you start drinking, and one after the other, you get drunk and let down your guard. Then you will be tempted to watch porn, and go back to the old days. It all started with a small fox, with an assurance from the Bible. You should reply with the Bible saying
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18.)
Also, complete the verse that he used to trick you saying
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. (1 Corinthians 10:23)
Real intimacy
Another small fox is the aftermath of having sex with our spouses. Initially, reaching orgasm once or twice may not be enough for satisfaction. Because of watching porn, we have trained our bodies to engage in prolonged sexual activity for hours. our sexual encounters with our spouse only last a few minutes, which is completely normal. However, a small fox sneaks in and convinces us to leave the bed and engage in other activities, such as watching television or doing work. While this may seem normal, a body accustomed to hours of porn-induced satisfaction and excitement will not be easily satisfied with a few minutes of real intimacy. Consequently, we find ourselves alone, craving satisfaction, and falling back into old habits. This is yet another small fox that creeps into our lives. Instead, it is better to cherish those moments with our spouse after sex and allow ourselves to fall asleep next to them, as this is far more safer than roaming the house with a body filled with desire.
The Habit
A small fox tempts you to masturbate with no explicit content or sexual thoughts. It tells you that your body needs it and that you should release this energy. This little fox argues that it’s just a habit and that you crave it. It suggests that you simply touch yourself, assuring you that if there are no sexual thoughts, it is not a sin. My dear, the link between masturbation and pornography is deeply buried in our subconscious; even if we manage to act on this habit without explicit images for a few days, feelings of guilt, anxiety, and depression still linger, as if we had watched porn. These feelings cause a relapse soon afterward. Remember, your body is God’s temple.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! (1 Corinthians 6:15)
keep praying for 5 minutes (step1)
May add 5 more minutes (step 2)
Win this battle.
