Troubling Foxes

You must catch the troubling foxes, those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship. For they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me? We will do it together. Song of Songs 2:15 TPT

This morning as I was reading my Bible, I was struck by how much God loves us. There are always “troubling foxes” in our lives, things that threaten to pull us away from the love Jesus has for us. We live in this fallen world, and we have to daily make efforts to keep ourselves from being tempted to not spend time with Him, to go through our day without Him. But as we make a concerted effort to get rid of those things that bind us and walk with Him, His love overtakes us. 

The fact that Jesus says, “Will you catch them and remove them for Me? We will do it together,” amazes me. Imagine that! Yes, He does want us to catch those things in our lives that have the possibility of drawing our eyes to those things that would hinder our relationship. But above all that, He says we will do it together! He doesn’t leave us to clean ourselves up, but He comes in and shows us the things we need to deal with, then helps us to remove those troubling foxes from our lives!

If we think of the “foxes” as temptations, lies, distractions, or harmful habits, Scripture and the character of Jesus give us clues about how He deals with them. He doesn’t destroy us for having them near. Instead:

• He exposes them gently: Like in John 4 with the Samaritan woman, Jesus reveals the truth without condemnation, awakening a desire for change.

• He speaks truth to lies: In the wilderness (Matthew 4), Jesus countered every temptation with the Word of God, showing us that truth is our best defense.

• He cleanses the temple: When corruption invaded sacred space, Jesus drove it out forcefully—showing that His love includes zeal for our purity.

• He offers transformation, not just removal: He calls us to follow Him, and in that following, He does the cleansing—sometimes firm, always loving.

So Jesus does not drive the foxes away with anger, but rather with authority, truth, and transforming presence—changing the heart of the person so the foxes have no place left to hide.

What an awesome God we serve! 

So kind, so merciful, so powerful!

by Olive Boettcher