It’s the ‘little foxes that spoil the vine’...(Song of Solomon 2:15)

I bet you have heard that phrase before, yes?

How easy is it for us to dismiss or set aside those small, little ‘besetting sins’ (Heb. 12:1) in our life because really...they aren’t all that bad (in our eyes-Rom.10:3), especially when you compare it to ‘how you use to live’...or perhaps compared to others, right? (Luke 18:11)

But heaven forbid we turn a blind eye to the sins of those evil gang members, sex-traffickers, pedophiles and axe-murderers that come across our borders. Yet... that root of bitterness or greed that you are hanging on to, or maybe that ‘critical spirit’ and sarcasm and envy you continue to struggle with...’meh...not that important given none of us are perfect’, right?

And by-golly if an adulterer or homosexual shows up at our church, they best get themselves down to that altar and ‘repent’ if they plan on sticking around here; but that pride and jealousy that resides deep in your heart?....yeah...well one of these days when you get to heaven God will finish ‘perfecting’ you, or so you’ve been told.

Remember the conversation we were having last week about returning to our ‘first love’ and doing those ‘first works’ again as Jesus exhorted those believers at Ephesus to do, lest their ‘lampstand is removed’ (Rev. 2:4-5)? Can I just tell you now that those ‘first works’ had nothing to do with signing up to work in the church nursery or VBS, or joining the choir after volunteering to help set up chairs every week before service started. Nor did it mean getting baptized again after crying a river of tears at some church altar. Now that’s not to say that spending some time repenting in tears is not a bad thing because James encourages we do that in order to get back in good graces with God- James 4:7-10.

But it’s after we have truly repented in our heart for ‘drifting away’ ...that we then experience this ‘time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord’ (Acts 3:19; Luke 15:17-24). Then... when we have ‘washed our hands and purified our hearts’ it’s then that we find ourselves in His presence again where there is ‘fullness of joy’. (Ps. 16:11)

Here’s a beautiful promise for anyone who humbles themselves in His presence, because as you draw near to God, He in turn draws near to you and ‘lifts us up’ (James 4:8-10). Then you will experience what it is written in Isaiah 55:12: “Therefore, you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace.”

Friends...some free advice here: Don’t try moving forward in God until you experience this. There really is something to this ‘waiting on God’ thing. Not waiting on Him is how most of us ended up in the ditches we find ourselves in. Oh...here’s another promise we find in Isaiah’s writings: “"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" (30:21). And that is no metaphor, given what Jesus tells us in John 10:3-4,27.

I don’t know about you...but these have to be some of the most reassuring promises found in our Bibles. He really does want to ‘lead us in the paths of righteousness and beside the still waters’ (Ps. 23:1-3)...the question is how willing are we to want to follow Him? If there was ever a time that truly conflicted hearts were in search of guidance through dark and uncertain days, that time is now.

And without getting too micro-detailed here, let me offer up in closing... some practical ‘clues’ as to what His voice might sound like as you get up and pursue this ‘pathway of peace’ (Luke 1:79; Heb. 12:14; Phil. 4:7)... They will most likely be still, quiet words of direction (1 Kings 19:12-13) that suggest: “Don’t respond to that situation with those cutting remarks that just ran through your head!”. Or maybe: “That thought that just landed in your mind wanting you to be offended and hurt and bitter....bring it into captivity right now and toss it aside.” (2 Cor. 10:5). And the next time you sit down in front of the TV or are scrolling through your phone and you get a ‘heads up’ about some inappropriate material that has nothing to do with living a holy and pure life is about to play, and you hear the question : “Do you really want your heart and mind to feed on that now?”....guess what? That’s ‘Him’ speaking to you.

Now, please turn and read the following verses: Heb. 3:7-8,15 & 4:7. Then look back at Heb. 3:12-13 which we touched on yesterday. Every time you dismiss His voice, your heart hardens just a little bit more as you are sending a clear and loud message to God: “I’m really not that interested in hearing from you on a regular basis.” Eventually, God will get the message and then you are on your own, which is not a good place to be. (Matt. 25:10-12; Proverbs 1:22-33; Heb. 10:26-31; 2 Pet.2:20-21)

Don’t neglect dealing with those ‘little foxes’. (Luke 13:1-5)