The Little Foxes We Find

One Saturday we woke up to a sunny kitchen crawling with black ants. We hadn’t been in our new house long, but we knew that moving back to the Deep South, after years away, would mean dealing with bugs. They started in the kitchen and then popped up on the second floor in our bathroom. I was discouraged. Somehow, the ants had spoiled our new-house excitement. The little things can really get you down sometimes. Like little foxes spoiling a vineyard, life’s trials—even petty annoyances—can prevent us from resting in Jesus. Simple, everyday struggles can squash the perfect fruit of relationship with Him. They are like little foxes, threatening to steal the fruit of joy, hope, and peace that Jesus says is already ours.

How easily I forget that instead of dwelling on the little foxes, we can rejoice, knowing that in spite of the mess swirling around us, we are chosen to be a light in the world. And these earthly struggles are reminders that Jesus came to give us peace with God. He can and will accomplish His purpose in your life and in mine. He is the reason we have joy and hope and peace. And there isn’t a fox anywhere that can steal that.

This is an excerpt from our 365-day A Moment to Breathe Devotional Journal.