John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Song 2:15 “Catch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,
While our vineyards are in blossom.”
A thief can’t steal unless somebody has something. If, just when you think you’ve come to a place or that you’ve got something in The Lord you have longed for, and you come under attack, or are reminded of things in the past telling you that you don’t qualify, then that is proof that you’ve got it, or the enemy wouldn’t try to steal it. You’ve got to have for a thief to want to steal it. It’s when the vines are in blossom that the little foxes come. The attack of the little foxes, which is different from the accuser reminding you of the past, usually comes in familiar form. It’s the temptation to sin in the moment, in some area of you’re life that you’ve often struggled with, that kills faith, with disappointment, frustration, and guilt over the sin. The reason reason the devil keeps using the same old temptation is because it’s been so effective. He knows if he can get you into guilt you will never walk in what you have, because you’ll be convinced you don’t have that anointing because you don’t deserve it. When you get attacked, wake up and realize this is happening again because it’s so effective. It’s not just about getting me to do this sin again, it’s about stealing from me the experience of a place in The Lord I’ve obtained through grace. Grace has been lavished on us all, and all that Christ is, we have, because of that grace. The devil just wants to keep you from realizing what’s yours by trying to convince you that you’ll never get it, because you don’t deserve it. He can’t prevent you from having it all; it’s too late for that, but he can steal your experience of it. Of course you already have it, or he wouldn’t be called a thief. There would be nothing to steal.