I watched the hawk lift from its perch in the top of the tall pine. His wings spread wide as he swooped toward the meadow, the sun burnishing his rusty feathers with glints of red and gold.
He was beautiful against the winter sky.
His beauty deceptive to the reality of his intent.
The Hawk, Beautiful in Appearance, was Deceptively Dangerous
I could see movement in the swaying of the meadow grass. Leaning against the fence post I saw a field mouse emerge from the grass and, sensing the hawk, scurry across to a fallen log where it found refuge from the imminent danger. It was then I realized something:
What I perceived as beauty, the field mouse knew as danger.
The Lord whispered, “Be like the field mouse. Know your enemy.”
Know your enemy …
What an odd statement for the Lord to make to me, but I stood still in the afternoon sun to ponder and to listen and to watch.
The Bible teaches us that the enemy of our soul comes to us disguised as an angel of light. We are often drawn to his beauty, not understanding that what lurks beneath the surface — his true nature and intent — is evil and bent on devouring us as a roaring lion.
But why would the Lord be giving me such instruction?
I believe it is because of the nature of the days we are living in. Evil appears to be good and good appears to be evil.
Even though most of us have our hearts set on good, there seems to be an ominous cloud of darkness lurking about, seeking to deceive us, to catch us off-guard, to cloud the Truth of God.
It cannot be!
The Truth of God cannot be clouded nor diluted nor compromised. His Truth stands forever and ever.
But if we don’t know His Truth — His precious Word, we are susceptible to the evil one who appears as an angel of light, perhaps with glints of red and gold, tempting us to let down our guard and fall prey to his scheme.
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge, and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His Truth shall be your shield and buckler.” ~ Psalm 91:1-4
Be Like the Field Mouse … Know Your Enemy
The field mouse was safe in the shelter of the fallen log. He did not fall prey to the hawk because of his diligence to know his enemy AND his awareness that recognized the approaching danger.
“Be like the field mouse,” The Lord reiterated. “Know your enemy.”
Selah
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Thank you so much for stopping by. I would love for you to share what’s on your heart in the comments below. Scroll a little farther down and you’ll see where you can leave your comments. Together, we can find the nearness of God in our darkest moments.
Sweet blessings to you,
Thank you for this timely caution. I constantly pray for awareness beyond what the eye can see. This was/is a beautiful illustration. Of course, the hawk wasn’t really evil was he; he was just seeking his food which God had promised to provide (Psalm 104). That’s the one thing about the food chain that I have trouble with. I always opt for the little one, the furry one.
Yes, me too! If I didn’t have men in my life, I could easily be a vegetarian- lol. Thank you so much for stopping by.
My discernment has been very heightened the last few months. I have had 3 separate incidents that God has been very clear in my spirit with the phrase… “things are not as they seem” and shortly after each time I will have my eyes opened to something that had red flag flying in my spirit. I would sit and watch other Christians respond to the things my spirit was having red flags over and my heart sank as so many were not seeing or decerning what I was and then every once in a while, someone would question the comment, or commentors and division on a post would begin. In the end all 3 times my red flags popped up were validated that indeed things were not as they seemed.
Yes! The gift of discernment is available to all of us. The Scriptures instruct us to test the spirit, but so many fail to do so and fall into the trap of the enemy. God is not a god of confusion, but a God of Peace. Oh, how I hold fast to this. I’m so thankful you are exercising discernment in these perilous days. God will ALWAYS reveal Truth for He IS Truth.