‘Twas then I rose and gazed afar
Beyond the clouds and farthest star.
To One whose ways are great and grand:
A thousand works o’er sea and land.

The flowers that blossom in the light
to captivate the sense of sight;
The birds that sing their glad refrain
As though to stir our trust again.

And then there loomed a little Child,
Becoming, gentle, meek and mild;
A trustful smile, a golden ray,
to turn our darkness into day!

Beholding faith with all its charm,
Why need to harbor thoughts of harm?
Much rather enter gates of praise
And seek life’s long unending days.

And then there came momentous news,
Revealing grand enchanting views –
Peace from on high, good will to men;
Edenic joys to bloom again.

Then war shall cease, disease and crime,
which do not savor endless time;
For Jesus died that He might bring
His peace and joy to everything!

A thousand years to pave the way
For this eternal gladsome day;
A thousand years to raise the dead
And offer them the Living Bread.

Then all the grateful will arise
to find an end to all their sighs.
Then they will say with voice and pen,
“God’s love surpasses minds of men!”

With such good news, why be dismayed,
Bewildered, troubled and afraid?
With heart and soul let’s look above
And trust in Christ’s Redeeming love!

Author unknown –
From Bible Standard Ministries,
Layman’s Home Missionary Movement

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It was not the outward act, however, but the underlying principle – disobedience to the Almighty – sin – that brought about the fall of man, plunging the whole world into chaos and death.

This same principle lies back of many small transgressions today. In Bible symbols, foxes are used to represent a person’s faults of belief and practice. Both are included in the meaning of the foxes of our text, though it refers, especially to faults of behavior or conduct…

When our simple and compound faults are full grown, they correspond to the foxes of our trext; but when they are still comparatively small, they correspond to the little foxes. Let’s look at a few of these foxes great and small and see how dangerous they really are:

DOUBT - is very destructive – It is the opposite of faith – the opposite of mental appreciation and heart’s reliance upon God and Christ (Hebrews 11:1). Doubt destroys faith, which is the victory that overcomes the world (1John 5:4) without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). It is an insult to God to doubt Him or His Word of Truth. How important then it is to lay hold on that little fox called DOUBT, for it will surely destroy our faith if allowed to go unhindered!

FEAR – (dread) is closely related to DOUBT; for one dreads and regards with apprehension one in whom he has little or no confidence. Mistrust and suspicion breed fear. “God is love” (1John 4:8, 16); and in proportion as we believe in Him and love His glorious character as revealed to us in His precious Word, we learn to love and reverence Him and not to be afraid of Him or dread Him “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear; because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1John 4:18).

DISCOURAGEMENT – may seem to some to be such a nice little fox that it needs little guarding against. Many will valiantly resist and pursue other foxes while fondling this one in their bosom, little realizing how dangerous it is. Many people are filled with self-pity, like to feel that they are much misunderstood and abused, seem to enjoy emphasizing their trials, not considering them “light afflictions” (2Corinthians 4:17) and seem to like to ‘feel blue’ .

However, how can we “be of good cheer (courage)” (John 16:33) and “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2Tim 2:3), if we become discouraged, and our morale is low? Courage in action spells victory; discouragement tends to bring defeat. Let us watch out for this little fox; it is so small and so innocent looking that it creeps undetected into almost every Christian’s life at one time or another.

Therefore, this fault appears when things go differently than expected, when we are depressed over our own or other’s faults and their manifestations, or when an answer to prayer is delayed. This sly little fox paid a visit to Jonah under the gourd vine (Jonah 4: 4-11) and to Elijah under the juniper tree (1Kings 19: 2-18).

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