Big Preacher vs. Tiny Roach! Roach Wins!

CORE THOUGHT: Distractions can come in small packages, and can deter big plans!

One of the few verses in Song of Solomon that preachers don't mind preaching on is this one: Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom(2:15). In this dialogue between the lover and his beloved, there is the desire to rid their relationship of anything that might threaten their love...those little foxes. Tonight, my "fox" that threatened my relationship with my hearers (this happened during my Wednesday night Bible study) was one, lone roach, who must have been the black sheep of the family since he was not adhering to the strict roach protocol of staying in the shadows, and not coming out until it's dark.

No, I didn't have the luck to have a law-abiding roach...no, this guy was a daredevil...crawling above my head on the chandelier (I was oblivious to his acrobatics until some of my members couldn't contain themselves any longer, and had to let me know. ) I didn't freak...I looked up, and made some comment about, "Well, my point must be a good one for Satan to send a roach to disrupt our train of thought.

I was making a particularly strong point about stewardship being fused with loving God and loving others...how it's not about giving money to the church, but about learning how to value things the way God does...which is the same as valuing things the way they TRULY are valuable...

That's when the roach caught our attention...I didn't my best to ignore him, but then he swooped at me (again, I was oblivious) causing a stir among the front rows...hmmm...I wonder how many people went home discussing the relationship between our love for God and others, and the value we put on our stuff as dictated by soceity, or were they making comments about that roach!?

I wonder how many times God tries to show us some wonder right in front of our eyes, and we're either watching, or running from, or chasing to catch a roach (or a fox for that matter!)? Don't let anything derail you from the important stuff!