I live in the woods and The LORD has used the animals and the plant life and the rest of the environment to teach me about His Kingdom and humans.

He’s been teaching quite a bit about warfare recently, because of what we will be coming up against in the days ahead.

Seems funny when so many humans call animals “dumb”, yet God uses the “dumb” according to our standards to teach us.

Some of this has been going on for a while, but He just recently started to make comparisons of them to us or to the enemy, that gave me the “AH HA! moments, I think He was waiting for.

“But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. [This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men.
For [simply] consider your won call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates and standards to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth.
[No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame. And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are. So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and ] boast in the presence of God,” 1 Corinthians 1:24-29 (AMP).

“For God’s “nonsense” is wiser than humanity’s “wisdom.” Just look at yourselves, brothers – look at those whom God has called! Not many of you are wise by the world’s standards, not many wield power or boast noble birth. But God chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise; God chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the strong; and God chose what the world looks down on as common or regards as nothing in order to bring to nothing what the world considers important; so that no one would boast before God,” 1 Corinthians 1:25-29 (CJB)

Because I live in the woods, I have all kinds of creatures that live here also. Some I see on a daily basis, others are very random in their appearance.

Lesson 1:

The deer were the first to get my attention.

Several years ago, the first year I lived here I heard gunshots during hunting season in the fall, my heart cried out to God and He told me to ask that He would hide the deer from the hunters.

BUT, He also said to pray that for myself or to pray that HE would hide me from the hunters.

I believe this will be needed in the days ahead. In dreams and visions deer stand for the OVER-COMERS.

Different types of deer live on most of the continents, and have had to change and adapt over time to survive, which is what “OVER-COMERS” have to do as well.

I still pray this for the deer and myself consistently.

Strategies against the hunters:

“You who live in the shelter of Elyon, who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai, who say to ADONAI, “My refuge! My fortress! My God, in whom I trust!” He will rescue you from the trap of the hunter and from the plague of calamities; He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His truth is a shield and protection,” Psalm 91:1-4 (CJB). (Think about how God hid David from Saul many times.)

“Blessed be ADONAI, who did not leave us to be a prey for their teeth! We escaped like a bird from the hunter’s trap! The trap is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of ADONAI, the maker of heaven and earth,” Psalm 124:6-8 (CJB). (This reminds me of Paul getting out of jail!)

“Hide me from the secret intrigues of the wicked; and the open insurrection of the
evildoers,” Psalm 64:2 (CJB)

“Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly, from the scheming of evildoers,” Psalm 64:2 (AMP)

“Hear my Voice, O God, in my complaint; guard and preserve my life from the terror of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly, from the scheming of evildoers, who whet their tongues like a sword, who aim venomous words like arrows, who shoot from ambush at the blameless man; suddenly do they shoot at him, without self-reproach or fear.
They encourage themselves in an evil purpose, they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, Who will discover us? They think out acts of injustice and say, We have accomplished a well-devised thing! For the inward thought of each on [is unsearchable] and his heart is deep.
But God will shoot an unexpected arrow at them; and suddenly shall they be wounded. And they will be made to stumble, their own tongues turning against them; all who gaze upon them will shake their heads and flee away. And all men shall [reverently] fear and be in awe; and they will declare the work of God, for they will wisely consider and acknowledge that it is His doing.
The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be glad in The LORD and shall trust and take refuge in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory and offer praise,” Psalm 64:1-10 (AMPC).

Lesson 2:

The mice were the first enemy warriors that visited.

Although, I didn’t recognize them as that, to me they were a nuisance, destroying paper goods, food, and clothing.

So I bought plastic or Rubbermaid containers for many things and I set traps that worked, but I couldn’t set enough to keep the mice under control in the winter.

Then I put out poison that worked for a while, until they gradually got used to it, so it no longer worked.

So now I’m using peppermint essential oil on cotton balls and misted (mixed with water in a spray bottle) in areas where they used to travel frequently.

It seems to work and I’m not seeing any of them, which is a good sign.

So I’ve passed that test.

I’ve also found that the peppermint essential oil also works to get rid of spiders, wasps, etc. Just be careful to not use it around hummingbirds. It is so strong it closes down the air passages.

The lesson learned was to be persistent in my attacks and be willing to change and always be looking for new strategies when what I was using didn’t work.

Lesson 3:

Several years ago, I thought I had some extra time, so because my nutrition needs were changing, I decided to plant a garden.

So I bought and put out the plants. They were eaten by the deer, rabbits, and anything else that found them. So I was done with the garden for that year.

Last summer, I experimented with a container garden on my deck, planting strawberries and sweet potatoes.

I didn’t have enough acid in my soil for the strawberries to survive. BUT the sweet potatoes were wonderful when it came time to harvest them!

So this summer, I thought I’d expand my deck container garden. I bought more containers and dirt. Nothing expensive, just what’s on sale and deep, so that I could grow sweet potatoes and a few underground things if needed.

My garden got off to a great start, as I mostly did a few plants in each container, with sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, baby watermelons, acorn squash, summer squash, broccoli, blueberries, strawberries, and later asparagus, peppers, onions and some flowers.

But about 2-3 weeks into enjoying watching everything grow and dreaming about the wonderful harvest I’d have, I was INVADED!

At first it was a few broccoli leaves, but then it got the whole stalk! This meant WAR!

But I didn’t know what I was fighting. The deer couldn’t climb up onto the deck, and I knew it wasn’t the hummingbirds, regular birds or squirrels who frequented my deck.

Although the squirrels planted their own garden of sunflower seeds, they stole from the birds, off the deck railing, in the extra pots I had sitting on the deck. The squirrels didn’t eat the vegetables.

The LORD pointed out to me that my provision was being stolen from the enemy.

So I began to watch my deck more closely and BEHOLD, the enemy was in the form of a ground hog, who I caught eating sweet potato leaves one afternoon, when I walked out on the deck.

He was just sitting there in the container, happy as could be, just munching down on my plants!

So I told him he needed to go and started to plan my next move of what to do to get rid of the ground hog who thought he owned and definitely enjoyed my garden.

I tried planting oregano plants beside all my veggies, because the oregano leaves have oil, that tastes burning hot. So if it got on their fur and they licked it, they’d regret it. It didn’t work.

I bought chicken wire and posts and was going to fence in everything, BUT my hummingbird feeders are directly above the plants, so I didn’t want them getting caught between the wires.

I don’t want to use chemicals, because I’m trying to eat organic, as well as I didn’t want anything to hurt the hummingbirds.

Finally in my conversations with The LORD, He asked me how the ground hog got on the deck?

I said that he just walked up the steps. (there are only three steps to the front entrance.)

The LORD laughed. My gates / entryways were open. DUH!

One of the first things you look at when you are being consistently spiritually attacked by the enemy is where is he coming in from?

What entryways or gates are open?….DUH… I know God got a good laugh out of that one!

But I hadn’t looked at it as a spiritual lesson, yet oftentimes what is in the natural applies in the spiritual also.

So I drew a picture of a gate, with a 2″x4″ board frame and put the chicken wire that I had purchased for the middle. Looked good to me.

But a friend stopped by and convinced me to buy baby gates that expand for $10 each. I thought that sounded reasonable, so I ordered the gates online and waited.

They came and I went to install them. I have two entrances to the deck, both at the front and at the back of the deck.

So I put one baby gate up and expanded it to find out it didn’t reach far enough to cover the opening for the front, which was where the ground hog was coming on the deck.

So I used zip strips to fasten two baby gates together at the entrance to keep the ground hog out. BUT, it didn’t work. He pushed the baby gates open!

I put a flower pot with dirt in it behind the baby gate, so he couldn’t push it open. He next tried to crawl underneath the baby gates, but I caught him in the act, and he ran as fast as he could away from me!

So I went back to my plan of having a gate made for the entryway, and then moving the baby gates to the back entrance.

I had someone make the new gate for me. In the meantime, while I was waiting for my gate to be made, I lost some of my peppers, all my broccoli, some of my acorn and summer squash, water melons, and my sweet potatoes were eaten down to the dirt by the ground hog.

The gate arrived and was installed. I thought all my problems with the ground hog were over. But about a week later, I looked out on the deck, after I heard a noise and there was the ground hog again!

When I went out, he scooted around the baby gates, walked on the ledge, and jumped down the back steps to run off into the woods.

My next project was to put chicken wire from midway up the deck railing to below the ledge, so he wouldn’t be able to walk on the ledge from the steps.

Using zip strips again, I cut, bent, and stretched the chicken wire and used the zip strips to attach it to the railing and posts, so I wouldn’t have to use nails or anything else to hold it in place and to keep the ground hog out. It worked!

Lesson in this was do not give up. No matter what, continue to seek The LORD, about what else you need to do to close the gates, so that the enemy can’t come in, and God will show you the route to success!

 

God Bless You!
~ Beverly Juelsgaard-Fischer

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God has allowed Beverly to minister all over the world through the internet, and in person through conferences, church services, and small groups. Beverly’s heart is to see the Body of Christ walk in the freedom that God means for them, so they can develop a deep intimacy with Father God, Jesus and Holy Spirit. She ministers to others through prophetic words, and other gifts, bringing breakthrough and calling people into a constant pursuit of His Heart to actively hear His voice for themselves and others. Beverly lives near Danville, VA.

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