This Is How You Catch Them!

Samson was able to catch not one fox but three hundred. In doing so, he was declaring that all of the things that were working against God’s people were going to start working for God’s people! First, he took the foxes away from Israel’s vineyards. This action saved the Hebrew vines from destruction. Then, he tied the foxes' tails together, set them on fire, and released them into the fields of his enemy to destroy their harvest.

God wants to give you that kind of testimony in your life!

The things that have been gnawing and eating at you can be caught and overcome. God can bring the fire of his presence into your situation. And He can send the enemy back to where he belongs so that you can experience victory over the little foxes in your most meaningful relationships.

We are all dealing with a little fox in some way. Most likely, little foxes! Meaning more than one issue or struggle chewing away at our minds and hearts. Song of Solomon 2:15 tells us that we must “catch” the foxes in order to prevent their damage.

So how do you catch the spiritual foxes that the enemy sends into our relationships to steal, kill, and destroy? With much success, I believe we can “meaningfully” apply The Five Love Languages of Gary Chapman, Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Quality Time, Acts of Service, and Gifts:

1. Meaningfully Affirm

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. -

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT)

Entitlement and selfishness will keep you from affirming others. Instead, affirm the people within your circle of influence: employees, supervisors, business partners, sponsors, parents, teammates, coaches, and, especially, your spouse and children. Greater levels of meaningfulness tend to arrive on the other side of affirmation.

2. Meaningfully Touch

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. -Hebrews 13:4 (ESV)

Touch your spouse in a loving and meaningful way – physically.

3. Invest Meaningful Time

Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others. -Philippians 2:4 (ESV)

If you're going to catch the little foxes that are gnawing away at the person you care so much about, you have to spend meaningful time with them. Care about what they are interested in and lean into their life. Schedule meaningful time with them, for example, a date night or a short vacation just for the two of you. Even just ten minutes of uninterrupted quality conversation can go a long way!

4. Meaningfully Serve

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. -1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV)

God commanded us to meaningfully serve the people with whom we want to have a familial relationship. In fact, God designed it to be a testimony of our faith and belief in Jesus.

5. Meaningfully Give

In all things…remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ -Acts 20:35 (ESV)

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” -Luke 6:38 (ESV)

Give from the goodness of your heart without expecting to receive something in return. No strings attached! Just give. Not manipulatively, but from the purity of Christ-like generosity.

There are little foxes who will constantly try to sneak into your life. They are coming to chew, gnaw, and eat at the roots and fruit of your most meaningful relationships. But God has more planned for your relationship than dead roots and devoured fruit. So instead, believe that there will be something healthy – something meaningful – something that stands the test of time.

Jesus is more than enough to help you defeat every fox:

On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.” And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’ -Luke 13:31–32 (NKJV)

Jesus showed us how to deal with the fox! “Go, tell that fox…” I love Jesus! He announced that even when the spiritual fox possesses a king-like personality, demons will still be cast out, sicknesses will still be healed, and Resurrection Day is still coming!

God has the answer for all the little foxes in your life. He has the solution for the things that are gnawing at your roots and devouring your fruit. He can and will help you catch all the little foxes in your life!

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/s9gactgmBc0

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

5. Subscribe to EricGilbert.org using this link:https://www.ericgilbert.org/subscribe. You'll be able to receive updates directly to your email inbox as we post blogs every Monday, Thursday, and Friday morning.

Five Things the Enemy Uses to “Gnaw” At Your Spouse

Over the course of 21 years, my wife (Mandy) and I have had an opportunity to provide pastoral guidance for several couples. Unfortunately, despite our best attempts, some of these couples still decided to walk away from each other. In review of the situations when things just didn't work out, our collective observation has been that often the couples had something "eating away" at them -- "gnawing" at the foundation of their relationship. Over time, these “little foxes” left uncaught grew to ruin the meaningfulness of the connection between the two. The issue(s) eventually became so significant that neither the husband nor wife felt the relationship was worth fighting for any longer. Sadly, over and over again, we have heard the cry of the same little foxes coming from different relationships. Names and faces have changed many times but the issues have stayed the same.

So, please hear this clearly, LITTLE foxes are a BIG deal! They can destroy any meaningful relationship. Recently, in reflection upon this reality, I generated a list of the top five "foxes" that I’ve repeatedly discovered in the vineyards of relationships. These five things just seem to "gnaw" at people, to the point that many eventually say, “I just can’t deal with this anymore!" or "I’m done!”

In no particular order:

1. Financial Disagreements

At first, it’s just a disagreement about whether to rent or buy a home, purchase a new car or a used car, take a big vacation or stay home all Summer. But if you repetitively ignore the tension, and little foxes remain loose, things can get intense quickly. We’ve heard of everything from secret credit cards with $20,000 maxed out balances at 26% interest to hidden bass boats docked in a marina. It can start so small initially. But small debt becomes big debt when the enemy is "uncaught" and gnawing away at our minds -- falsely convincing us of everything we are entitled to call our own, regardless of our partner’s opinion.

2. Lack of Sexual Satisfaction

It starts with differences regarding stylistic or frequency preferences in the bedroom. But unharbored, the gnawing of discontentment can lead to flirtatiousness towards other people, pornographic exploration, or complete betrayal. If allowed, the enemy will come in and keep chewing until he has destroyed any remaining meaningfulness within the relationship!

3. In-Laws Overreaching

This fox usually gains entry through the gate of good intentions. For example, a set of in-laws cares a lot about their child, and they have strong opinions about what is best for their side of the family. But this little fox can chew quickly. Frustration develops, and distance from a critical support system occurs. Often, as the gnawing intensifies, ungodly counsel from unhealthy third-party advisors becomes a reality, and the enemy takes full aim at destroying the relationship.

4. Lack of Special Moments

Honestly, we may have heard this one more than any other. This fox's whine sounds like “he used to do the little things” or “she's always with the kids.” And it gets loose because couples become too busy to lean into one another which then leads to a lack of value and lost romance in the relationship. Instead, we must take time to nurture the special moments in our relationships.

5. Lack of Appreciation for the Little Things

All of us want to be edified, encouraged, and affirmed -- a LOT! Unfortunately, this means we are unlikely to be intentional about meeting these emotional needs for our spouse in a meaningful way. The reason is that humanity tends to give the least of the things we desire the most. The sad reality then becomes that failing to affirm our “special someone” can give place in their life to the gnawing effects of a lack of appreciation. Soon, attitudes like vindictiveness, anger, and lashing out begin to make noise in the relationship. So, it’s essential to appreciate and acknowledge the little things that your spouse does for you, and continue doing the little things for them!

If one or more of these fox bites are "gnawing" at you or your spouse -- chewing away at your heart and mind -- do not be discouraged. You can catch the foxes! And we will talk more about it in my next post.

For the moment, I leave you this encouragement:

Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. -Judges 15:4-5 (NKJV)

Samson caught the foxes.

Initially, he was distraught with the Philistines and wanted to bring demise upon them. So he took three hundred foxes and tied their tails together with torches in-between. He then set the torches on fire and released the bound and on-fire foxes into the Philistines fields that were ready for reaping. In so doing, he plundered hell’s harvest and brought destruction to his enemy so that God's Kingdom could be advanced. The bottom line: Samson made the foxes work for him, not against him. And with God's help, so can you!

We must catch and bind up the little foxes that try to destroy our meaningful relationships. It’s the little things that appear in our marriages that the enemy will use to destroy them. But when we acknowledge the little foxes, we can overcome them!

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/s9gactgmBc0

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

5. Subscribe to EricGilbert.org using this link:https://www.ericgilbert.org/subscribe. You'll be able to receive updates directly to your email inbox as we post blogs every Monday, Thursday, and Friday morning.