One of the joys of Papa’s gardening skills is my family getting to enjoy homegrown sweet onions.  They usually turn out good and this season was no exception.  When the green tops started to fall over I knew that harvest time had arrived and last Saturday was the perfect day to get them out of the ground.  As I started pulling them up I was pleased at what I was finding—an abundant supply of large and succulent sweet onions.  They are so sweet that someone tried them and described them as “candy onions.”

As I continued the harvesting process I noticed something in the patch that looked like animal fur.  My first thought was that some unfortunate animal had died there, but as I looked closer I thought it might be some of the landscape material from the front yard that had blown to the garden.  Still not sure what I was looking at, I reached down and touched whatever it was.  That was when things started to get interesting—as well as a bit frightening.  It was neither the remains of a carcass nor a piece of fabric.  When I touched the mystery item it came to life.  Something started to emerge!

For those who know me, you know that it is obvious that I am not of the athletic type.  However, when movement started to take place underneath what I touched, I gained some instant athletic abilities; you would have been amazed at how fast I jumped up and got out of the way.  What was I facing?  Was it rats?  Was it a den of rattlesnakes?  I did not know when I made my escape.  All I knew for sure was that I was going to take whatever measures were necessary to get out of the path of whatever I had aroused.

We are designed with a flight or fight mechanism to enable us to take all measures to gain safety when we sense that we are in danger.  In this case, I had no interest in fighting; I chose the flight alternative!

It is good to pour effort into preserving our physical well being when faced with danger, but we need to also remember the importance of taking appropriate measures to escape from spiritual threats that come against us.  Those threats can come in a variety of temptations that Satan plants as attractive traps to snare us and lead us astray.  It is wise to always remain alert and watchful so that we are not overcome.  Consider these words found in 1 Corinthians 10:13:  “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (New International Version).

Perhaps one of the reasons that we sometimes fail to gain victory over temptation is that we allow ourselves to become convinced that we have no other choice but to succumb to what is trying to lead us astray.  Rather than caving to such a thought, we need to cling to God’s promise to give us overcoming strength over temptation so we can escape victoriously with His power and guidance. 

Never forget that He is faithful:  faithful to His promises; faithful to His children; faithful to enable us to become overcomers.  He is faithful to always make a way of escape for us.

So what was it that put me into flight mode out in the onion patch?  After I scurried out of the path of whatever was under where I had placed my hand, I looked back and out emerged three young rabbits.  Amazing how such tiny creatures can make an overweight old man jump into high gear!