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MASQUERADE PARTY OF THE WOLVES
All the rest of the family had turned in hours ago, but I was still awake and seated in my large easy chair by the fire. The stove was glowing a pleasant cherry red, and from the log beam overhead a lantern's Cheerful light illuminated the pages of my Bible. The only sound in the room was the intermittent popping of the wood in the fireplace and the rhythmic beat of the clock on the mantle. My eyelids were just beginning to grow heavy when suddenly the stillness was broken by a loud jarring crash and then an insistent scratching and clawing at the heavy door of our log cabin. Quickly rising from my chair, I walked to the door and took my rifle down from its accustomed place. Then, unbarring the door and opening it a few inches, I saw a pair of eyes staring into mine. It was Taku, one of our two large malamute dogs, and it was plain to see that she was disturbed about something.
Uttering a low growl she turned to look toward the dark edge of the surrounding spruce trees and as she did so, I caught a fleeting glimpse of something that quickly darted into the shadows. It wasn't hard to see what she was trying to tell me. The wolves had come and she urgently needed my help. Patting her head and reassuring her, I quickly donned a heavy wool shirt, down vest, mukluks and parka. Then taking my rifle and slipping outside, I quietly entered the spruce forest hoping that I might get a shot at one or more of our visitors. With tail wagging and what I'd swear was a grin on her face, Taku ran on ahead to show me the way.
The moon was full and it created an eerie silver glow that brightly highlighted the frozen lake and the surrounding blackness of the spruce forest. In the distance the stars in Orion's belt were just beginning to show above the dark silhouette of the mountain …. a clear indication that it was a little past two a.m. Before leaving I'd made it a point to glance at the old thermometer that hung just outside our cabin door. It was registering just past the thirty-five below mark. All around, the pure whiteness of the snow, untouched by soot and dirt, seemed to be alive with flashing pinpoints of light, looking as if bushels and bushels of sparkling diamonds had been scattered across its surface.
For the next two hours I stayed on their trail without ever getting even one shot. Taku would run ahead of me for thirty yards or so and then trot back; she was far too wise to go any farther than that. The wolf (or wolves) easily stayed ahead, and occasionally I'd spot a moving shadow, but only for an instant. The fact is, I was surprised that I was seeing anything at all of them. Perhaps they were hoping that they might still get a chance at Taku, but she was one lady who wasn't having any part of it. And what's more, she seemed to be enjoying the whole thing immensely.
I finally gave it up and returned home. The wolves had won… just as I suspected all along that they would. They were far too clever to be taken so easily.
The Cunning Of A Wolf
A wolf seems to take great delight in outsmarting a dog and will do his best to get in close enough to attack and tear the dog to pieces. Even a good sized dog is no match for a wolf, and a dog with savvy will give wolves a wide berth. Just a few weeks before this incident with Taku, a fellow in our area had his dog ripped apart right on the stoop of his cabin, and it occurred in broad daylight.
The cunning of a wolf is remarkable, so much so that many Indians feel that when some men die, their spirit enters the body of a wolf. This, to their way of thinking, accounts for the incredible intelligence that the animal displays. Anyone who's tried to take a wolf by the use of traps will tell you it's no easy matter. Perhaps that's one reason why a prime wolf pelt brought up to eight hundred dollars or more to the man who was lucky enough to bring one down.
The Wolves Masquerade Party
When wolves are after a dog there's a ruse that the pack will sometimes use. One wolf, usually a female, will show herself at a safe distance from the cabin, and actually bark at the dog (which is not something that wolves frequently do). Next she'll put her forepaws flat on the ground, elevate her rump, wag her tail, and begin hopping around in a circle, just like a dog does when it's feeling playful. There's no mistaking that the wolf is clearly inviting the dog to come and join her. Over and over she repeats her actions until the dog finally responds by sallying forth a little distance from the safety of the cabin…but there he stops. Again the temptress playfully retreats a little farther away, each time moving closer toward the brush and trees while coaxing the dog to follow. Little by little the dog comes closer, as the female repeats her charade of death. Finally, the killing place is reached and the trap is sprung. Before the dog can whirl around and race back to the cabin, wolves suddenly explode from the trees on either side instantly cutting off his retreat. In only a matter of seconds the dog is literally torn apart!
The masquerade of the wolves has accomplished its purpose.
The Bible Warning
Whenever I never think of that masquerade it reminds me of an urgent warning that's clearly spelled out on the pages of the Bible. In it we're warned that dangerous and fatal traps threaten the soul of every man and woman born into this world. The traps that it describes are very similar to the cruel seductive traps employed by the wolf pack. We're warned that an enemy is on our trail, an enemy that, like the wolf, remains hidden from our eyes. This unseen foe is unbelievably cunning and knows just what bait will work best with each one of us. For some it's the desire to amass material possessions, for another it's the craving for forbidden sex, while to still another it's the desire to be admired and looked up to. He knows just which of our buttons to press, and his ultimate purpose is to bring us to the place where our soul can be lethally trapped and destroyed… for all eternity.
His Method Of Seduction
To accomplish his purpose, this nemesis of our souls gains our confidence by pretending to be something he's not. As Scripture puts it, "…for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light"---2 Corinthians 11:14. The traps that he sets along our pathway are disguised to appear harmless, but in reality nothing could be further from the truth. Little by little, closer …ever closer…he plans to leads us on until suddenly the trap is sprung… and it's forever too late to escape! It's not any wonder that Scripture warns us to beware, and be watchful, because "the devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." It can't get much plainer than that… can it?
"What are you trying to do, son?" a shopkeeper asked a boy who was staring wide eyed at a large basket of apples. "Are you trying to steal one of those apples?" "No sir", the boy replied. "I'm trying not to."
It's pretty evident that temptation is something that all of us come to grips with from time to time. The question is… WHEN TEMPTATION DOES CONFRONT US, WHAT'S THE BEST WAY GO ABOUT DEALING WITH IT?
Is There Anything We Can Do To Escape?
Now I'm not going to try to give you some sophisticated, theological answer to that question. The Lord knows that for many years I've been a believer who's sincerely committed to following Christ, and yet to this very day I'm still fighting my own battles with temptation. BUT… there are a few lessons I've learned along the way that have been a great help to me…and maybe they can also be of some help to you.
I've found that there are three specific steps that can be of immeasurable help.
1) The first step in resisting temptation is to immediately GET HELP FROM YOUR MASTER. With regard to temptation the Bible counsels us to first "Submit yourselves to God…". That advice simply means to put yourself in His hands by quickly asking for God's help. Just a short prayer saying "Lord, I need your help, and I need it right away!" Even a petition as brief as that can make all the difference. It reminds me a lot of what Taku did when she was in trouble. She immediately came to her master, scratching on the cabin door to get attention and aid. No doubt it saved her life.
So what should you and I do when we need help? Simply do the same thing. Just scratch on Heaven's door and tell your Master that you're desperately in need of His help right away!
2) When the temptation enters your mind IMMEDIATELY resist! DON'T WAIT. If you do you've already lost the battle. Instantly--- without hesitation---without a moment's delay--- RESIST! Scripture says "Resist the Devil and he will flee…", but that resistance must be employed the minute the temptation enters our mind. If we wait, our imagination will begin to go to work painting its mind pictures. And when it does, we're as good as whipped. Resistance will work, but ONLY if you resist the moment the temptation arises.
3) The Word of God counsels us to "Give no place to the Devil"(Eph. 4:27). In other words we're to distance ourselves from whatever is stimulating our wrong thoughts and passions. All too often we make a pretense of resisting when we don't really mean business. And, as a result, we find that we have deluded ourselves…to our own detriment.
Far too often we're like the very overweight lady who told everybody at her workplace that she was going on a strict diet. Pounding her fist on her desk she boldly and firmly announced, "From now on, under NO circumstances will I take even one bite of any donuts, rolls, or sweets of any kind!"
But in spite of her loud, adamant statements, the very next morning she walked into her office carrying a large sack of donuts and a big chocolate cake. Immediately she was asked "How come?"
With a very pleased look on her face, this is how she replied: "Well… when I was coming to work this morning I had to drive right past this big, wonderful pastry shop. And as I was driving, I saw this DELICIOUS looking chocolate cake in the window. And right next to it was the tastiest looking plate of donuts I have EVER seen! BUT…there was NO way I was going to give in and buy those pastries. Absolutely NOT! But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I'd made that hasty decision without really seeking the Lord's will like I should have. So I decided right then and there to pray and see what the LORD wanted me to do. SO, I prayed, 'Lord, if I've made the wrong decision, please show me. I'm going to turn around and go back around the block to that Pastry Shop, and IF it IS your will that I buy that chocolate cake and those donuts, please let me know by having a parking place open for me right in front of that Shop!'
And sure enough, on only the eighth time around, there was a parking place open right in front of the door to that shop!
And you know…. I'm ashamed to have to admit it….but there have been times when my poor, dumb, ignorant dogs have demonstrated more commonsense and character than I have shown under similar circumstances! I remember a time when I was training our two dogs to obey an order. I'd set a plate of food right in front of the dogs' muzzles, just inches from their mouths. But before either dog could take a mouthful of food, I'd give the command, "NO! DON'T TOUCH! NO!
What happened next always amazed me! Both dogs---without any prompting---would turn their heads away so they couldn't see the tempting chunks of moose meat setting right in front of them! THEY ABSOLUTELY REFUSED TO LOOK AT IT! And the same thing occurred each and every time the test was repeated. But what was even more amazing to me was that BOTH dogs reacted in exactly the same way.
I was astonished. It was as if they knew that if they looked at the meat they couldn't resist wolfing it down. So…to keep from giving in to temptation,…they both refused to look at the source of what was tempting them. They would actually twist their heads clear off to the side so they were unable to see the source of their temptation.
WOULD TO GOD WE HAD ENOUGH SENSE AND CHARACTER TO DO THE SAME!
James 4:7 tells us, "Submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he WILL flee from you."
AND…HE…WILL.
Posted by cdrnorth at July 12, 2005 8:21 PM
Comments
This is outstanding!!! I very much am enjoying this message, as well as the others. Please keep it up. I intend to incorporate this into my devotions.
Posted by: Elena at October 13, 2005 4:00 PM