Tunnel Stomping

We have all seen the sign as we drive.
Share the road.
It usually has a picture of a bike on it.
It is intended to remind us that there are others traveling along with us.

I almost wish I had a sign for my front yard.
Share the lawn.
My sign would have a picture of a mole on it.

Yes…moles!
Probably one or two.
They are not social creatures and they do not like to share space.

Those annoying lumpy areas of grass that feels squishy under your feet.
Mole tunnels.

Most of my neighbors have monthly lawn services.
The woman that we use to treat our lawn, chooses to use organic products.
The lawn is so pretty and weed free…but since it is healthy, we have many earthworms.
Moles love to eat earthworms.

We discussed our options.
We can do grub control…mole repellent…we can stomp on their little molehills.
We can make the environment an unpleasant place for them to live.

I don’t want to kill the moles…I just want them to go back to the woods.
They can eat all the worms they want there!

If we had the moles when my children were little, I could have recruited them to stomp on the molehills.
They would have taken great pleasure in marching around the lawn and collapsing the tunnels of the enemy!

I can remember picking crops at a local farm as part of a county gleaning project.
The vegetables that we harvested went to local food banks.
It was not the serving that delighted the hearts of my little boys at that time.
It was throwing the rotten tomatoes as far as they possibly could…competing with each to see who threw the farthest!

If we stomp on the mole hills, the moles get frustrated.
They have to re-dig another tunnel.
After a while, they go elsewhere looking for food.

I know we have a lot of earthworms, because after a spring rain they are wiggling all over the driveway.
Earthworms are food for the birds and I do not want to interfere with any mother bird feeding her babies right now.

God designed moles to be interesting looking creatures.
Moles have polydactyl forepaws, which means there is an extra thumb next to the regular thumb.
Moles are able to dig 18 feet per hour in the less dense, upper soil of a lawn.

Except for the fact that the lumpy tunnels are unsightly, moles do not eat plant bulbs as many people think.
Most of the damage is aesthetic.

Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him. (1 Peter 5:8,9)

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Our intruder…the devil.
I imagine him tunneling around our lives…right below the surface.
It is not earthworms he is after…it is our soul.

He prowls…in the shadows…seemingly incognito.
The lumpy path he leaves in his wake needs to be stomped down.
Stomping his habitat over and over until he is frustrated enough to go elsewhere.

The eyes of the Lord are constantly watching…not to devour…but rather to strengthen.
One glorious day, the Lord Jesus will destroy the devil’s pathways forever.
Until then, we battle him daily .

There is a repellent that we need to have on hand.
The Word of God.
God’s Word is a double-edged sword…both offensive and defensive.
It is our weapon in this battle.

Jesus was tempted for forty days in the desert.
He combated the devil with the Word of God.
Over and over, in response to the temptations, Jesus said, It is written…

The Word of God is the only repellent that drives the devil away.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. (James 4:7,8)

God’s Word pounds the devils tunnels!
That is why we must read it, study it, memorize it, practice it…obey it.
It is our greatest weapon in the daily battle we face.

Collapse the tunnels of the enemy.
Make his environment an unpleasant place to live.
Immerse yourself in the Word of God.

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him until an opportune time.
(Luke 3:13)

The devil will be back…but you will be ready for him.
Stomp his tunnels over and over with the Word of God!