Scripture: SONG OF SOLOMON 2:13-17 (NASB)
13 The fig tree has ripened its fruit, and the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along! 14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding place of the mountain pathway, let me see how you look, let me hear your voice; for your voice is pleasant, and you look delightful. 15 Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom. 16 My beloved is mine, and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies. 17 Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.
Transcript
Good morning, Bethany. My name is Jason Vriends, a lay pastor here, and I am glad you are with me today.
I want to start off with a question. Have you ever enjoyed a day, that seemed absolutely perfect? The sun was shining, your plans were falling into place, and you felt completely on top of the world. But then something small ruined it. Maybe you spilled coffee on your shirt. Perhaps a flat tire stopped you in your tracks. Or someone made a comment that you didn’t like. I had many days like this—where the smallest things, throw off your entire day.
For those of you that don’t know me, I work in IT—short for what my parents call “computers”. I wake up at 6 am, and try to fit in prayer, reading the bible, and exercise before rushing to work. But sometimes, I squeeze in too much before work, which leaves me scrambling to catch the bus downtown, which makes for some interesting stories. One time, I was busy all day with back-to-back meetings. I had calls with my colleagues. I had a meeting with my boss. I even presented a security update to our CIO. But for the entire day, I felt that something was off. That night, when my wife came home, she pointed out a hidden truth. Something I overlooked in my scramble to work. She said, “Your shirt is inside out.” I couldn’t believe it! I had worn it like that all day long. The tags stuck out. The seams showed. But nobody said a word. I guess they thought I was starting a new fashion trend “IT Guy Spring Collection.”
Let me give you another example. At my work, everyone gets a tablet with a detachable keyboard. It makes moving between meeting rooms much easier. But for those days when I work at home, I take off the keyboard, and plug my tablet into a docking station. This lets me use multiple monitors, along with a full-size keyboard, and mouse. Well, another scramble to bus, I unplugged my tablet, placed it into my bag, and ran for the bus. There was one small problem… I left my keyboard at home. Oops. I had to touch type on that tiny screen, with two fingers, like a T-Rex hunched over, for seven and a half hours. My hands hurt. I couldn’t work at my normal speed, and there was no spare keyboards at the office. I came home tried and annoyed, wishing I had double-checked my bag before leaving.
Have you ever had one of those days? You’re in the middle of a project—maybe you’re fixing something around the house, or you’re just trying to get through your list… and then it happens. You can’t find the one tool you need. The screwdriver’s gone missing. The batteries in the remote are dead. Or maybe it’s not even that dramatic—you forgot your wallet as you’re rushing out the door. These little frustrations sneak in, and before you know it, they’ve hijacked your peace. And that’s what we’re talking about today. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. You’ve heard the sayings, haven’t you? “Don’t cry over spilled milk,” “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” “Take it in stride,” “Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.” But Song of Solomon 2:15, tells us something different. It doesn’t tell us to ignore the small stuff. It doesn’t say, “Just let it go.” No, it says, “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom.” Did you catch that? Little foxes. Not big wolves. Not bears. Not raging storms. Little foxes. And they’re sneaking into the vineyard—your vineyard. Although this verse comes from a love poem, it contains an important lesson for us. Address our little foxes quickly, before they ruin our marriages, friendships, or faith. We’re going to look at three things—three steps—to guard the good things God is growing in your life. And the first one? It’s this: The Vineyard Is Your Life.
I looked at an old photo album from Bethany recently. It had pictures from years ago, when this church was growing. I saw a Sunday School class, kids grinning ear to ear with their teachers, standing outside in the sunshine. I saw a group at a sod-turning ceremony—folks with shovels in hand, ready to dig in and build this place from the ground up. I saw a camping trip near Ottawa—families huddled around a fire, roasting marshmallows, laughing like nobody’s watching. As I looked at these photos, it hit me: this is our vineyard. This is what God’s been building up at Bethany. Those pictures aren’t just memories—they’re treasures He’s planted here. Think about it. Our marriages—couples who’ve built homes together, leaning on God every step of the way. Our faith—how He’s carried us through the good days and the tough ones, never letting go. Our work here—serving, helping each other, showing up even when life gets busy. That’s the fruit of Bethany’s vineyard, the good stuff God’s growing in us as a family. But here’s the thing—Song of Solomon says there are little foxes out there, sneaking around, trying to mess with what God’s building. They’re not tearing the album apart—they’re smarter than that. They’re the distractions that pull us away from each other, the worries that make us forget what we’ve got, the little habits that nibble at the joy God’s planted. This photo album? It’s your vineyard—ours—alive and growing, precious to Him. And if God’s put this much into it, don’t you think it’s worth guarding?
Now, I know what some of you are thinking—“Okay, Jason, that’s a nice picture, but what’s this got to do with foxes in a love poem from the Bible?” See, those little foxes sneaking into our vineyard here at Bethany, isn’t just our story—it’s their story too. The bride and groom in that song, they’re not just throwing around pretty words about vineyards. They’re talking about something deeper; something that helps us see why those foxes’ matter so much. Let me explain what I mean.
When the bride and groom talk about “our vineyards that are in bloom”, they’re not just chatting about gardening. In their world, a vineyard was everything. It was food on the table, wine for celebration, income to live on. It was life itself, bursting with fruit, green leaves, and promise. Imagine it for a second—rows of vines, heavy with grapes, and the sun warming the soil. That’s the picture. And for them, it’s a symbol of their love—new, tender, and growing. They see it as something good. And you know what? God gives us good things too. He gives us people we love—our spouses, our kids, our friends. He gives us peace when we trust Him. He gives us purpose in what we do every day—like we do here at Bethany. These things can grow strong if we care for them. We need to see them as important. The vineyard in the verse is like that—it is full of life, just like our church family is to me. The photos reminded me to pay attention to what God gives us—to not let those good things slip away because we are too busy or distracted.
What good things do you have in your life? Do you see the people you love? Do you see your time with God? Think about one thing you are thankful for today. Maybe it is a friend who helps you. Maybe it is a quiet moment in your day. Pay attention to it and help it grow. Otherwise, small problems could come in—like my inside out shirt or forgotten keyboard. That’s why we have to catch them fast—because step two is: Little Foxes Are Small But Sneaky.
Think of David and Bathsheba from 2 Samuel 11. David was a king, a man after God’s own heart, but in this moment, he makes a big mistake. He is in Jerusalem while his army fights a war. One evening, he saw Bathsheba bathing on a rooftop. His small look seemed harmless at first. He was just up there, walking around, not planning any trouble. But he stared at Bathsheba longer than he should have. He asks, “who she is”, learns she is married to Uriah, one of his soldiers, and still sends for her. They sleep together, and soon Bathsheba is pregnant. This one choice starts a chain of wrong actions—David tries to hide what he did, and even has Uriah killed. It’s a lot like social media today. Let’s say you scroll and see a swimsuit picture. It catches your eye with lust. You stop for a second. The app knows it, and gives you more—more pictures, more thoughts. Or maybe you see a news story about politics or social justice. It grabs you with anger or pride. You read one post, and than bam! The app feeds you more—and the next thing you know, you’re in a fox den, debating pineapple on pizza, with a stranger named Bob! Social media gives you more of what you look at, more of what you desire. Just like David got more of what he looked at and desired. It exposes your weakness, until your armours off and guards down. The devil works the same way. He’s scouting your life, looking for that one weakness—anger, lust, pride—and he’ll keep jabbing at it until you fall. That’s why you can’t let it linger; you’ve got to destroy it before it destroys you.
Scripture paints foxes as trouble. Samson torched the Philistines fields with them in Judges 15. Jesus called Herod a fox—sly and dangerous in Luke 13, and Tobiah, mocked the rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls, saying, “even if a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their all of stones” in Nehemia (nee-a-meia) 4:3. Song of Solomon zooms in on these “little foxes that are ruining the vineyards.” He wasn’t calling out the big foxes, which would simply grab a few grapes and run, with no harm done. No, it was the little foxes that were the real problem. They were too small to reach the grapes, so they’d chew the roots, gnaw the base, and—boom—down goes the vine and years of growth. The lovers know these small foxes hurt their good life—their vineyard full of hope—because they destroy it from the ground up. We have small problems too. Worry keeps us up at night—thinking about work or money. Anger from old fights stays with us—maybe something someone said years ago.
What small problem do you have? Does the devil know of a weak spot? Does a habit take away your joy? Find it. Identify it. Call it out, today. If it is anger from the past, let it go. Pray about it. These problems hide, but you can find them—just like David could have turned away from that rooftop. We need to address them fast, before they turn into big trouble in our lives or here at Bethany, just like Song of Solomon warns us. We’re looking at three steps to guard the good things God is growing in your life. The first was The Vineyard Is Your Life. The second was Little Foxes Are Small But Sneaky. Now, the third step? It’s this: Catching The Foxes Takes Action.
Picture this: It’s 2011, and it’s my first Sunday here at Bethany. I walked into the coatroom and smelled something… awful. It was like a wet dog mixed with dirty gym socks. But since it was my first day, I didn’t say anything. I thought, “Maybe it’s just an old building,” or Bethany’s cologne is “Eau de Locker Room, with a hint of vintage Old Spice!” It wasn’t until several years later that I discovered what that smell was. I was walking around the church making up some to-do lists, and noticed something strange about that coatroom. A white cloth was hanging on the wall, like it was hiding something. I pulled it back—and found a disaster. A leak in the roof had been dripping water into the wall for years. There was mold, rotten wood, and stains everywhere. We called in roofers to fix it, and quickly discovered the root cause. When the church was built in 1992, one of the roof drains wasn’t screwed in. It was just sitting there. Every time it rained, water would find its way and sneak through three tiny holes, where the screws should have been. It was a small oversight for the builder, but a big one for Bethany. It cost our church years of damage, time, and over $50,000 in repairs. All because of something “small.” The truth is: Some “small things” are not small at all—a lie we brush off, a grudge we cling to, or a habit we downplay. These are the “little foxes” Scripture warns us about.
Do you know how I catch foxes? Let me tell you something, that you might not know about me—I’m a fox hunter! No, not the kind running through the woods with a hound dog and shotgun. I’m talking about the amateur radio kind, a neat hobby I picked up. With this little radio, [hold up the radio]—my ham radio, I can talk to people around Ottawa or around the world. There is a game we play called fox hunting. It’s kind of like a treasure hunt. Someone hides a transmitter—the “fox”. Maybe behind a tree, in a ditch, or up a hill, and it sends out this faint signal. You power on your radio, and try to pick up the signal, listening carefully, and figuring out which way it’s coming from. You track it, whispering, “Come out, you sneaky little fox!” I’m out there like a nerdy pirate, radio in hand, hunting treasure—that sneaky fox signal! It’s teamwork until you win.
The lovers don’t just watch the foxes ruin their vineyard. They take action to stop them. Our problems are like that signal—small, sneaky, and tough to pin down. We have to work hard to catch them, just like I do on a fox hunt. But here’s the good news: God helps us do, what we can’t do alone. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” On my own, I’d give up when the signal fades or the trial gets rough. But with God’s strength, I can keep going. Anger, worry, or weakness can be stopped—not by our power, but by His. Replace bad actions with good ones—like prayer or kind words—because God gives us the strength to push through. The lovers wanted their vineyard safe from little foxes, and they took action, quickly. God’s help makes the difference, turning our effort into victory.
Choose one problem this week. Catch it. My problem is not listening enough. Your problem might be getting mad when you are tired, spending too much time growing little foxes on social media, or always wanting your way. Whatever it is, don’t let it grow. Guard your thoughts, break a habit, mend a relationship, rest instead of rush, or tame your tongue. Start today. Work at it like a fox hunter with a radio. God gives you strength.
So, what’s your little fox? Catch it now—before it tears up what God’s growing in your life. Those three screws in that drain? They nearly wrecked this place. Don’t let those little foxes wreck your vineyard—your life, where God’s growing good things worth protecting. They’re small but sneaky, digging at your roots if you let them linger. So, catch them now with three simple steps: spot the threat, work hard to stop it, and trust God to strengthen you. Act today—protect your vineyard before the foxes ruin the harvest!
Friends, I want you to take 1 minute, and think about the little foxes in your life. We’re going to play a short song and put up some of these foxes on the screen. Write down your little foxes on the paper given to you, fold it up, and take it home with you to always remember what you need to work on. [Music starts—wait for people to write down their foxes.] Picture it: a fox-free vineyard—your life thriving, vines heavy with fruit, no nibblers in sight. That’s God’s plan for us, Bethany. Don’t Feed the Foxes—Let’s keep them on the run together! Amen
