Shield Maidens: "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids" - Armed and Dangerous

What happens when everyone around you becomes deceived and sides with the enemy? What do you do when your fellow soldiers are losing heart right and left and you can’t get to everyone in time before they are taken captive?  You pick up your weapon and fight, that's what! Join a mother goat and her youngest kid as they survive a brutal home invasion, faithfully cling to their convictions, rescue those they love, and take down the adversary once and for all. 

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Shield Maidens: Episode 6

“The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids”: Armed and Dangerous

Welcome to Lost in the Woods: Finding Your Way as God’s Daughter Through Fairy Tales ™. I’m your host, Autumn Woods, and I’m so excited you’re here. We’re continuing our season of shield maiden stories; tales of warrior women who protect those in their charge and use their skillsets to defeat the evil that would destroy them and all they love. As daughters of God, we are expertly fashioned to be women of war. This doesn’t mean we battle against all the men or use our weapons against each other. We may not even stand on a literal field of combat this side of heaven. The human heart is our fortress and battleground, and as an ezer kenegdo, a strong rescuer, you are charged to defend it against the attacks of the enemy and fortify it with love, encouragement, and the Word of God. 

Last time, we talked about remaining strong and courageous in the face of opposition, persevering till the end, and encouraging each other to keep moving toward our God-given destinies. We’re continuing down that path and taking it a step further. What happens when everyone around you becomes deceived and sides with the enemy? What do you do when your fellow soldiers are losing heart right and left and you can’t get to everyone in time before they are ravaged and taken captive? 

To find the answers, we travel just outside the forest to a cottage belonging to a family of goats. We’re taken on the journey with a mother goat and her youngest kid, as they survive a brutal home invasion, faithfully cling to their convictions, rescue those they love, and take down the adversary once and for all. 

So, let’s get lost as we read the story of (The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids).

There was once upon a time an old goat who had seven little kids, and loved them with all the love of a mother for her children. One day she wanted to go into the forest and fetch some food. So, she called all seven to her and said, “Dear children, I have to go into the forest, be on your guard against the wolf; if he comes in, he will devour you all—skin, hair, and all. The wretch often disguises himself, but you will know him at once by his rough voice and his black feet.”

The kids said, “Dear mother, we will take good care of ourselves; you may go away without any anxiety.” Then the old one bleated, and went on her way with an easy mind.

It was not long before someone knocked at the door and called, “Open the door, dear children; your mother is here, and has brought something back with her for each of you.”

But the little kids knew that it was the wolf, by the rough voice.

“We will not open the door,” cried they, “thou art not our mother. She has a soft, pleasant voice, but your voice is rough; you are the wolf!”

Then the wolf went away to a shopkeeper and bought himself a great lump of chalk, ate this and made his voice soft with it. Then he came back, knocked at the door of the house, and cried, “Open the door, dear children, your mother is here and has brought something back with her for each of you.”

But the wolf had laid his black paws against the window, and the children saw them and cried, “We will not open the door, our mother has not black feet like you: you are the wolf.”

Then the wolf ran to a baker and said, “I have hurt my feet, rub some dough over them for me.” And when the baker had rubbed his feet over, he ran to the miller and said, “Strew some white meal over my feet for me.”

The miller thought to himself, “The wolf wants to deceive someone,” and refused; but the wolf said, “If you will not do it, I will devour you.” Then the miller was afraid, and made his paws white for him. Yes, that’s how people are.

So now the wretch went for the third time to the house-door, knocked at it and said, “Open the door for me, children, your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something back from the forest with her.”

The little kids cried, “First show us your paws that we may know if you are our dear little mother.” Then he put his paws in through the window, and when the kids saw that they were white, they believed that all he said was true, and opened the door. But who should come in but the wolf!

They were terrified and wanted to hide themselves. One sprang under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the washing-bowl, and the seventh into the clock-case. But the wolf found them all, and used no great ceremony; one after the other he swallowed them down his throat. The youngest in the clock-case was the only one he did not find.

When the wolf had satisfied his appetite he took himself off, laid himself down under a tree in the green meadow outside, and began to sleep. Soon afterwards the old goat came home again from the forest. Ah! what a sight she saw there!

The house-door stood wide open. The table, chairs, and benches were thrown down, the washing-bowl lay broken to pieces, and the quilts and pillows were pulled off the bed. She sought her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called them one after another by name, but no one answered.

At last, when she came to the youngest, a soft voice cried, “Dear mother, I am in the clock-case.” She took the kid out, and she told her mother that the wolf had come and had eaten all the others. Then you may imagine how she wept over her poor children.

At length in her grief she went out, and the youngest kid ran with her. When they came to the meadow, there lay the wolf by the tree and snored so loud that the branches shook. She looked at him on every side and saw that something was moving and struggling in his gorged belly.

“Ah, heavens,” said she, “is it possible that my poor children whom he has swallowed down for his supper, can be still alive?”

Then the kid had to run home and fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and the goat cut open the monster’s stomach, and hardly had she made one cut, than one little kid thrust its head out, and when she cut farther, all six sprang out one after another, and were all still alive, and had suffered no injury whatever, for in his greediness the monster had swallowed them down whole. What rejoicing there was!

They embraced their dear mother, and jumped like a tailor at his wedding. The mother, however, said, “Now go and look for some big stones, and we will fill the wicked beast’s stomach with them while he is still asleep.”

Then the seven kids dragged the stones thither with all speed, and put as many of them into his stomach as they could get in; and the mother sewed him up again in the greatest haste, so that he was not aware of anything and never once stirred.

When the wolf at length had had his sleep out, he got on his legs, and as the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well to drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled. Then cried he,

“What rumbles and tumbles
 Against my poor bones?
 I thought ’twas six kids,
 But it’s nothing but big stones.”

And when he got to the well and stooped over the water and was just about to drink, the heavy stones made him fall in and there was no help, but he had to drown miserably. When the seven kids saw that, they came running to the spot and cried aloud, “The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!” and danced for joy round about the well with their mother.

(The End).

I will never get tired of stories where the bad-guy gets his comeuppance. I think it’s hardwired into us to get attracted to those stories because they contain part of the happy ending our spirits long for that we won’t get to see fully until the final battle between good and evil. But make no mistake—we will see it. Don’t wander away from the campfire. We’re about to shed some light on the incredible treasure hidden in this story.

We begin, as we so often have, with a mother’s love. The mother goat loves her children with all her heart and does her best to provide for them. She is willing to make sacrifices for them, journeying into the forest alone to find their food. But she is concerned with more than just their basic physical needs. Their spiritual strength is also a top priority. Part of our assignment as warrior women is to educate and train those in our charge for the battles to come. Even if you’re not a biological mom, you have people in your life who look up to you and pay attention to the way you live and speak. You want to know that even if you can’t be there to help right away in a crisis, you’ve imparted as much wisdom as you can to them so that they are not left helpless in their trials. Before leaving, this Christ-like mom instructs her kids to guard their hearts from evil. She makes no bones about the dangerous wolf and his tendency to deceive, kill, and destroy. Her warning includes key traits by which the children can identify him in spite of his trickery.  She knows that the wolf’s first method of attack is to win his way into their hearts and minds. If he can convince them to open the door to him, he will devour them. Her advice to her kids reads like the warning in 1 Peter 5:8-9:

“8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith…”

Like the wolf, Satan circles the flocks, looking for the weak links. The ones who appear to be alone and defenseless. That’s why it’s so important to hide God’s word in our hearts and meditate on it frequently. It prepares us and teaches us which tactics to watch for when discerning activity in the spiritual realm. That way, even if we are caught off guard, we will not be taken down because we are ready to resist the devil and he will be forced to flee from us. If you are inundating yourself with God's truth, the lies of the enemy will stand out jarringly, like a sour note in a piece of music. Warrior that you are, you will leap into action at the first sound of alarm and thwart the enemy assault with a God-breathed counter-attack. Jesus illustrated this in the wilderness. Every time the accuser came up with a new tactic, Jesus was ready for it and deflected it with a scripture-based answer.  

            Notice that the mother goat does not say to her children, “Beware if the wolf comes to the door.” There is no question as to whether or not he will show up. It is taken as a hard fact that he will try to enter the house while the mother is gone. But her children have a choice as to how they respond to his presence. The kids will not become prey simply by being alone when the wolf arrives, but by allowing themselves to be fooled by the schemes of their predatory adversary. Jesus told us flat out, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). Being tested or coming under spiritual attack is not a sign that you aren’t walking in God’s will. It’s evidence of growth and maturity. You’re heading in the right direction and the enemy can’t stand it. The point is not to never come under attack, but to be prepared when you do. 

            The mother goat’s children assure her that they understand what is expected of them and promise obedience. Satisfied, she takes her leave and ventures into the forest. She has hardly left the front stoop before the wolf comes knocking at the door. He entreats the little goats to let him in, saying that he is their mother and has brought something for each of them. It happens to be his carnivorous mouth full of sharp teeth, but he leaves that part out, of course. Remembering their mother’s warning, the kids know right away that he is the wolf by his rough voice and refuse to let him in. They call him out, declaring that their mother’s voice is “soft and pleasant,” while his is “rough.” Jesus says that His sheep hear his voice and follow Him and will never follow a stranger whose voice they do not know (John 10:27; 10:5). Plenty of people will use God’s name to further their own selfish causes even though God has not blessed their efforts at all. When someone is trying too hard to win you over with something that serves their best interest while masking as a helpful messenger, you can sense the ugliness of the spirit behind their soft words. Stop your mental frenzy for a second, pause the fear and guilt pulsing through your veins, and imagine Jesus speaking to you this way. If it doesn’t sit right in your spirit, run in the other direction. Jesus corrects the people He loves, but there is no condemnation or malice in Him (Proverbs 3:12; Romans 8:1). If you’re held in bondage by what is being spoken over you, rebuke it. Call it out and remind yourself out loud what God says about you. I’m no exception to this, believe me. I say it as much for my own benefit as yours. 

            Sometimes this method of demonic influence is subtle. Sometimes, it is really painfully obvious, like the difference between the gentle voice of the lady goat and the grating one of the devious wolf. Like the kids or our heroine in “The Little Girl and the Winter Whirlwinds,” you’ll see through this obvious trap right away and dodge it, confident in your convictions. I’ll give you a silly, real life example. It’s no secret that I am addicted to work and achievement. I will get stir crazy and feel useless if I don’t have a project. The enemy is well aware of that. When I’m not here with you guys, I record and produce Christian audiobooks. I like telling other kinds of stories, too, but this is where God has led me, so I’m being obedient. If I’m in a dry spell, or I’m working on a section of a book that frustrates me, I will suddenly get unsolicited offers to do books that blatantly promote the enemy’s agenda. Stuff like occult romance novels where the book covers are barely censored. When this happens, I burst out laughing because I know exactly what’s going on. I don’t even consider the possibility that this new project could take care of the useless feelings or abate my frustrations, because it’s very obvious that it would cause me pain and heartache as I endure things in that book that make me uncomfortable and don’t please God at all. I would totally be misusing my gifts and thumbing my nose at God if I jumped in that beartrap. No thanks!   

So, we pass the test. Yay! New level. Oh wait, that means new devil, too. Our enemy is like a learning robot. He watches for weaknesses he can exploit and boxes he can check to trick us into willingly leaving the safety of God’s protection. Remember that his ultimate goal is to provoke God, but God’s children happen to be one of his favorite paths to that goal. He’ll persist in asking for the same target if that person poses an imminent threat to his designs. We see this with Job, Joseph, Samson, Daniel, Jesus, Peter, and many others throughout the course of the Bible. We see this as women. We are constantly bombarded by an onslaught of negative messages meant to make us lose our minds and render us ineffective warriors and unintelligible, manic-depressive companions. But the Lord allows trials and tribulations because they refine us into who He means for us to be. He is in control the entire time Satan seems to be running amok, and the accuser has no idea that he is allowed to be so terrible so that God may be glorified even more. 

Like the roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, the wolf’s ultimate goal is to satisfy his hunger. It’s nothing personal against the kids, they just happen to be the flavor of the week. It becomes more personal, however, the more they continue to thwart him. Determined to enter the house, he goes into town and buys a piece of chalk, which he swallows in order to pass the children’s vocal test. Once again, he raps on the door using the same words as before, the chalk masking his voice’s natural roughness. But he makes the mistake of resting his black paws on the window, and the children shame him again.

Fuming, the wolf dashes back to town and fools the baker into rubbing dough on his paws. Then he charges to the miller and demands that he sprinkle flour over his doughy feet. The miller refuses at first, discerning that the wolf is up to no good, but caves in when the wolf snarls that he will devour him if he does not obey. Notice the little commentary the Grimms include after this incident: “yes, that’s how people are.” The miller chose to submit to evil for fear of losing his life rather than risking himself to stand up for righteousness. He was not helpless. He could have cried out and alerted his neighbors. He could have grabbed one of his heavy tools and threatened to bash the wolf’s head in with it. He did not have to submit. 

No one can make you bow down to the enemy or his agenda. Call for help if you freeze up and take hold of your weapon, the Word of God, to fight against evil when it finds you. Jesus says in Matthew 16:25, “for whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Be willing to risk yourself for the sake of righteousness. You never know who else will be harmed by your choice to play it safe. 

Because of the miller’s cowardice, the wolf succeeds in obtaining all he needs to carry out his cruel deception. He returns to the goat’s cottage, changes the wording of his request ever so slightly in his chalky voice, and puts his white paws not on, but through the window for the kids’ inspection. Despite their past experiences, these new tactics trick the children into opening the door. Why would they fall for this on the third try after foiling the beast’s earlier attempts so easily? Fairy tale rules dictate that most trials occur in threes. The third element is always the break in the pattern. The youngest of three children is the opposite of the older two, usually wiser, more attractive, luckier, kinder, something to that effect. The third attempt at something is often a success, whether it is for good or for evil. 

For a discerning person, an instance need only occur twice before preparations are made to change the outcome for the better. The third little pig builds a house of bricks and boils a cauldron of water before the wolf comes down the chimney. Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother set a trap for the second wolf who attempts to do them harm—also involving water. Cinderella tests the stepmother twice before realizing that she will never give her permission to attend the ball and takes matters into her own hands. Two is the number of judgement. Three is a number of completion. It proves the character of those involved beyond all doubt. The wolf in our story is consistent. He will never stop until he gets what he wants, and after two unsuccessful attempts, he cunningly makes preparations to ensure that the “third time’s the charm.” The kids, however, are not mature enough to hold on to the truth when they are being fooled in a more subtle way. Like the Witch’s final strike in “The Little Girl and the Winter Whirlwinds,” this last attempt by the wolf hits close to their hearts. They miss the comforting presence of their mother. They look forward to her return so eagerly, that they mistake wolf-paw doughnuts for their mother’s firm hooves. In so short a time, they have forgotten what the hands of love look like and are willing to believe that this transparent façade of love is the real thing. 

Jesus warned us to “beware of false prophets, who come… in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly…are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). He also spoke of something called the apostasy, or the great falling away. Because of the abounding lawlessness of the times, “the love of many will grow cold,” even the elect will be deceived, and people will betray and hate one another because of offenses (Matthew 24). 

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). 

Every generation before us has experienced this in some form, but we are seeing it very clearly now. If I hear the phrase “my truth” one more time, it’s going to take me a second to let the Holy Spirit stop my tongue and change what flies out of my mouth. Your personal experience is very different from truth. Something may be true of you, but what is true of you can change based on circumstances. Jesus is the only unchanging truth. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. As God’s children, we should recognize His voice and chase after what we know to be from Him. But it isn’t always easy. We get weary and worn out while we wait for God’s promises to come true. There are so many ways we can get distracted and forget what God’s love, nature, and gentle correction are like that we assume the next voice telling us what to do is the right one. 

            When Hebrews mentions spurring each other on to love and good deeds, it isn’t meant to nag you and make you feel like you have to be “on” all the time and never rest. It’s firmly suggested because we act out what we listen to. The more we are exposed to the wonderful stories of what God is doing in the lives of others, the more we believe He will do in us. We grow stronger in our faith when we remember how faithful our God is. Try it. In addition to your regular prayer and Bible reading time, go for a week surrounding yourself as much as possible with godly messages. I’m not saying only watch Christian shows. But choose stories that have characters who act and speak in keeping with God’s commandments. Watch how certain song lyrics affect your attitude. Have intentional conversations with other people about God and see what happens in your thought life. You’ll become more sensitive to the things of God and recognize threats more readily.

            If you aren’t taking in enough stimuli to remind you to trust that God is good and in control, you start to lean on your own flawed understanding and act on messages contrary to the instruction God placed in your heart. Unfortunately, the kids have become cocky in their ability to discern the wolf’s strategies. Unpracticed as they are in deep discernment, they congratulate themselves in their paltry ability to catch the wolf when he plays by more obvious rules, like having a rough voice and black feet, but they are not “cunning as serpents” like their opponent, and are less capable of seeing through his more elaborate cons. He checks off all the boxes for the “are you my mother” tests on paper, but the spirit of the law and the letter of the law are two different things. A closer inspection of his paws would reveal his falsehood to the children in a heartbeat. But they do not test the spirit. Ignoring the dust of flour flying into their noses and the dough dripping on the floor, the kids agree that this soft-voiced, white-pawed person must surely be their long-awaited mother, and open the door to the ravenous wolf. 

Many people will come forward claiming to be Christ, only to be proven as charlatans in the end. Even the anti-Christ will perform signs and wonders to deceive people. Their horror at the revelation of his true nature will be just as palpable as that of the little goats coming face to face with their destroyer.

Realizing their grave mistake, the children scatter throughout the house, trying to conceal themselves from their slavering foe. He catches six of them anyway and greedily swallows them whole. After blowing through the house like a hurricane, he saunters out to the meadow to nap under a tree, before heading off to wreak havoc on his next unsuspecting victims.        

Anyone want to tell him he missed one? One little she-goat hides herself in the clock case and survives the home invasion. Why did I say earlier that this youngest goat clings to her convictions and is not part of the wolf’s welcoming committee? The text does make it look like everyone agrees to open the door. But look at her hiding place compared to those chosen by her brothers and sisters. In their panic, they choose obvious places to hide and are easily hunted down. But selects an unconventional spot: the inside of a clock. In a typical home with a grandfather clock, the device is housed deep in the interior. It is in a centrally located place due to its heft and purpose. It would not be stationed in the kitchen, where accidents could easily befall it, nor would it be in a bedroom, where its constant tones would torture the sleeper. The clock would live where everyone in the home could hear it and mark the time without being disturbed or traveling a great distance to see its face. This tells us that the youngest goat is not at the head of the pack when the door is opened. She is already firmly entrenched in their home and when the wolf enters, the inside of the clock is the best and closest hiding place for her. The youngest goat is the seventh child, the one who breaks the pattern, representing perfection and completion. She is the faithful remnant. While her six siblings, representing mankind and our failures, make the wrong choice to welcome the enemy into their home and then run to futile hiding places that provide no security from him, our seventh goat has chosen a secret place to conceal herself from her adversary, where she is fully covered and finds refuge, while her siblings are discovered and devoured all around her. This sounds like Psalm 91: 

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall rest in the shadow of the Almighty…He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge…A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” 

            The hollow interior of the wooden clock case is reminiscent of the hollow tree where the princess hides in “Thousandfurs.” In that sense, it is symbolic of Jesus and leaving fear, turmoil, and sorrow at the cross. It is a place of healing and safety, a space to process the tragedy that has struck and find the courage to come out and face the world again. And she stays there until she hears the voice of her mother—her real mother—calling her to come out. 

            Devastated at the news of her family’s destruction, the mother goat weeps over her lost children. She did everything she could to equip them before she left, only to find them victims of the wolf’s bestial appetite at her return. She blames herself. She wishes she’d never left, or that she could have done something more to help them guard themselves against their enemy. Has she failed as a mother? As an ezer? No. She could only be responsible for the behavior and well-being of her children up to a certain point. From there, it was on each of them to make wise decisions and understand the difference between truth and lies. If you’ve poured into someone only to find them living in a way that looks more like death, it isn’t your fault. You are not a bad mom, daughter, grandmother, wife, sister, aunt, friend, or mentor. You are not judged by the poor choices of the ones in your charge, but by how well you love them. And when you find that person, or those people, on the brink of death, it is not too late to speak life over them. Keep fighting on your knees, and when you can’t do that anymore, get up, go out, and watch and listen for God to tell you what your next move is. 

            When the mother goat’s grief can no longer be contained in the four walls of her house, she flies out the front door to the meadow, her youngest kid running after her. They stop in their tracks when they come upon the despicable wolf sleeping under a tree. Glaring in shock, the goat notices movement inside the wolf’s engorged stomach. Her children are still alive! It’s not too late! Immediately, she sends the kid back to the cottage for scissors, needle, and thread. 

            Why does she have the kid fetch the supplies instead of going herself? Not only does she refuse to leave her lost children, but she is better equipped than her daughter to handle any sudden moves the wolf might make. Big mama goats have big mama horns. The better to bash you with, my dear. Contrary to popular belief, most species of female goats are armed and dangerous. People make the same assumptions about human women, too. They think we are weak and helpless, unable to handle certain aspects of life. Surely we won’t show resistance but obediently do as we are told. Bleh! They forget that God uses the people that others deem to be weak, useless, or compliant to do unexpected mighty things for His glory.  

Ever hear of Jael and Sisera? Oh, it’s one of my favorite Bible stories! And it illustrates my point so perfectly. You can read Judges Chapter 4 for the full context, but here’s a brief summary. General Sisera was oppressing and attacking the people of God. Village life had ceased in Israel because everyone was so afraid of him, until its armies, led by Deborah and Barak, struck back. After a great battle at the River Kishon, his army defeated and in shambles, Sisera crawled away to the tent of Heber, the Kenite, an ally of Sisera’s wicked king. Unbeknownst to the general, Jael, the wife of Heber, was an ally of Israel. She allowed him to presume on the connection with her husband and pretended to go along with his requests for nourishment and refuge. Once Sisera was sleeping soundly, however, Jael grabbed a hammer and a tent peg, drove it through his skull, and delivered Israel from its violent oppressor. 

By the way, did you know that Jael’s name translates to “wild or mountain goat?” That’s just too perfect! 

God used Jael and the range of skills and tools she had on hand to defeat the enemy. Women were the ones who pitched the tents in that culture. It was another housewife chore right up there with preparing meals and being a hospitable hostess. That should make any many terrified to underestimate the women in his house! She also had a bold heart, willing to defy cultural norms and convention, and even use them to her advantage, in order to secure freedom for God’s people. 

Notice that both Jael’s gentle and forceful talents were used to bring down the general. Similarly, the mother goat uses her sewing capabilities, fierce love, and ingenuity, to rescue her children from the wolf. She refuses to give up on them. If there is any chance that she can redeem them, she will do whatever it takes to set them free. Sound familiar? Slicing him open with her scissors, she frees the captive goats from their dark prison. They rejoice at their liberation, but their rescue is not complete yet. The scoundrel must be made to suffer for his crime and never be allowed to harm another soul again. The mother goat instructs her children to gather large stones and put them inside the wolf’s stomach. Like the youngest sister in “Fitcher’s Bird,” the bravery of the mother inspires the kids to act quickly against their adversary and stop him from causing further damage. Once each child has been replaced by stones, the mother goat swiftly stitches up the fiend.

When he awakens, the wolf lumbers over to the well to quench his thirst and realizes what has been done to him. Desperate for water, he leans over the edge of the well, and the weight of the stones causes him to topple over and crash into the deep dark pit, where like the serpent of old, he meets his end. The wolf’s punishment is rather biblical. In addition to the obvious parallels between his fate and that of Satan in Revelation, Jesus says in Luke 17:2, “It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin." The dastardly wolf goaded the children into sinning by misleading them. Yes, they made the choice to believe his lies and open the door, but their characters are still in development. They are further shaped by their interactions with people who are supposed to be wiser and more mature than they are. If they believe in deception because it is taught to them with apparent authority, it can only lead to death. But this can be corrected and fought against by reinforcing their minds and hearts with the truth.

And that’s where we come in. Like the mother goat, we are armed and dangerous. God has given each of us unique capabilities and ways that we hear Him speak so that we can reach everyone who needs Him. As daughters of the Living God, we are meant to spur each other on to right the wrongs in this world and rescue our brothers and sisters, and those coming up behind us, from the duplicities of the enemy. The more time we spend in the Word, the more skilled we’ll be at tearing down the lies of the enemy with the truth. “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Hebrews 10:39). We have each been given a unique skillset by God to reach the people in our immediate spheres and beyond. It is woven into the foundation of the women God calls you to be. Sharpen your sword, ezer kenegdo, and use the tools you have to set captives free and speak God’s kingdom into this earth.  

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode and rate the show on your favorite podcast platform. If you’d like to see what else is going on in the fairy tale forest or support the show, check out the Lost in the Woods Buy Me A Coffee Page.  I’m Autumn Woods and I can’t wait to see you on the path next time you get Lost in the Woods