“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 that you’ll resist his sinful ideas if you recognize them. Instead, he uses small foxes.
Foxes are clever creatures, and when they’re young and small, they can be quite sneaky. We will explore some of Satan’s sneaky tricks that quietly sow the seeds of trouble, infiltrating your heart and sabotaging your progress when victory seems so close. The Bible urges us to resist these little tricks. They may appear small at first, but they can grow and cause significant trouble.
“Happy is the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock!” (Psalm 137:9).
During your fight, it’s crucial to consider your defenses. You must stay vigilant in identifying and addressing any weak points. Even something that may seem insignificant now could grow into a major issue that requires attention. These “foxes” are small, sneaky, and notorious for Satan’s deceptive tricks. He constantly uses these tactics to mislead those who are walking the right path. Remaining aware of this threat is vital.
Think of a small hole in a boat—if ignored, water will gradually seep in until the boat eventually sinks. It’s crucial to plug that 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. But one day, you wake up late and rush off to work or school, forgetting to pray. The next day, you do the same. Surprisingly, Satan doesn’t tempt you with explicit images or push you toward pornography. Instead, he tricks you into thinking that you’ve prayed enough and now have the power to resist temptations, even if you miss a day.
Gradually, Satan changes his tactics. He orchestrates situations—work, school, movies, friends—that keep you up late at night. While staying up late isn’t inherently sinful, it becomes a seed for what’s to come. You start feeling tired and delay your prayers until the next day—and then the next.
Unnoticed by you, Satan is slowly pulling you away from God’s protection. Once he is successful, he brings those explicit images and temptations, reminding you of the pleasure they once brought. He brings up things you would have rejected if you had maintained your prayer routine and stayed close to God. Now, you’ve let your guard down and stand vulnerable to Satan’s arrows. It’s likely that he will make you fall, all because of a small fox in the beginning.
Prayer is the connection between you and God’s command center—a Father who loves you. It’s perfectly fine to express your fears to Him. You can say:
Jesus, You know how weak I am in this area. I haven’t prayed to You for two days, and I’m worried this might be a way for Satan to pull me away from You. You know I love You. Please accept my prayers, whether they come at a good or bad time. 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 so I can spend time with You. If I start drifting away because of my weaknesses, pull me back like You did with Peter when he began to sink. Above all, don’t let me go.
“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12).
Biased Translation
A common deceptive strategy involves misusing the Bible to convince people of something untrue. Satan intentionally misinterprets the original text to make people believe in his tricks. He used this tactic with Jesus, tempting Him to throw Himself down from the temple, quoting Scripture:
“In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:12).
While that is true, Jesus responded:
“It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Luke 4:12).
Satan might remind you of a verse, such as:
“The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).
He’ll tell you it’s okay to indulge and visit porn sites, even if you stumble, based on God’s promise of acceptance and forgiveness. But you need to counter him by reminding yourself 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 what 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).
He will emphasize that achieving success requires relentless hard work day and night. He will urge you to work hard until exhaustion overcomes you, causing you to fall asleep, 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).
Also, remind him 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
He will continue by using your body, making you eat excessively and fill your stomach with food, especially before sleeping. This can leave you feeling lethargic, raise your body’s core temperature, potentially excite you, and cause 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 in Excess
Yet another little fox is drinking wine. While enjoying wine isn’t sinful, drinking in excess makes us lose control and then relapse. Here, Satan will tell you that the Bible says:
“All things are lawful for me” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
He will assure you that it’s fine to have some alcohol. Then, you start drinking, and one after the other, you get drunk and let down your guard. Afterward, you may be tempted to watch porn and fall back into your old ways. It all started with a small fox, disguised by a Bible verse. You should reply with what the Bible really says:
“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:
“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’ve trained our bodies to engage in prolonged sexual activity for hours. Our sexual encounters with our spouses 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 working. 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’s better to cherish those moments with our spouses after sex and allow ourselves to fall asleep next to them, as this is far 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 fighter, 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 NIV).
Start with five minutes of prayer.
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