Feeding The Fight

A year ago, a bird built a nest on our front porch. I thought about taking it down but didn’t.

A few days later there were eggs in the nest. My family thought it’d be fun to watch them hatch, so we left them alone.

One Saturday, I stepped outside mid-phone call. Pacing and talking. Not paying attention. I walked right under the nest—just a few feet above my head.
I didn’t think twice… until I started to walk away.

Something felt off. I looked up.

A massive snake was in the nest. A six-foot long chicken snake was curled up in the nest like it paid rent. The eggs were gone. Now inside the belly of the beast.

Now I’m not scared of snakes, but I’ve got a healthy respect for them. If that nope rope dropped on my head mid-call, this would be my eulogy.

I grabbed a water hose and a stick. To get the snake down I was spraying and poking. This snake was not backing down. Chicken snakes are not chicken at all.

He was striking, I was swinging. I was fighting for my life.

My wife looked out the window and said it looked like I was jousting the snake.

Eventually, I got him down and got him gone.

Now I check the porch for nests all the time. I refuse to fight that battle again.

I realized that snake didn’t just slither into our lives without a reason. It came because I let the nest stay.

And I wonder—how many of us are doing the same?

We let things settle.
We let them build.
We let them lay eggs.

Then act surprised when the fight shows up.
When it attracts snakes.

Are you feeding the habit that’s hurting you?
Feeding the hurt that’s stealing your peace?
Feeding the bitterness poisoning your joy?

Then wondering why your spirit feels weak…
Why the fight seems impossible?

Maybe it’s because we’re feeding the very thing we’re fighting.
Sometimes… we are fighting the snakes we feed.

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Get Your Wires Crossed

Paul says it like this in Galatians 6:7-9 (NKJV):

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."

Sow to the flesh, reap corruption.
Sow to the Spirit, reap life.
What you sow is what you grow.

Paul wasn’t only preaching- he was prophesying. Predicting what neuroscience confirms.

Neurons that fire together, wire together.

The brain builds highways for your habits. We are all fighting the fires of our wires. Your wires will be crossed up until you take them to the cross.

So if you're constantly doom-scrolling, binge-watching, and feeding your flesh all week- You’re not just seeing… you’re sowing.

Don’t be shocked when anxiety runs your mind or when sin feels stronger than your self-control.

You have been feeding the snake and now you wonder why you are fighting for your life.

On the flip side of the fight-
When you praise God, when you meditate on His Word, when you fill your heart with gratitude— You're rewiring your brain for peace. Strengthening the pathway to praise. Feeding the right fight.

You can’t sow to the flesh all week and expect to harvest peace on Sunday. That’s not how harvest works.

Your life is shaped by what you feed it. Unfortunately there’s no Ozempic for your soul. You will have to deal with what you hunger for.

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You Can’t Outwork A Bad Diet

I’ve noticed lately—I’m working out harder than I did last year, but I'm not seeing the same results.
Why? My diet isn’t as clean. I’m working twice as hard for half the gain.

Same goes for your spirit. You can’t outwork a bad diet.

Romans 13:14 says:

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh.”

Paul doesn’t just say don’t sin.
He says don’t plan for it. Don’t save it a seat.

That means:

• Don’t say you’re done with that relationship but keep the number. That's not closure. That’s provision.

• Don’t scroll late at night when you know you fall into temptation then. That’s not convenience. That’s provision.

• Don’t call it entertainment when it glorifies the thing you're trying to escape.
  That’s not entertainment. That’s entrapment. That’s provision.

Let me put it like this:
Don’t pack sin a lunch and ask God to make it lose its appetite.

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Don’t Go Shopping Hungry

If you’ve ever grocery-shopped hungry, you get it. Your buggy will end up full and your bank account empty.

You’ll buy stuff you don’t need just because your stomach was empty. That’s what happens when we walk into the world empty of the Word of God.

We fall for things we’d normally flee from because we’re spiritually starved. Feeding the flesh and wondering why it keeps winning.

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Eat And Leave No Crumbs

I have heard people say that an outfit someone wore “Ate and left no crumbs”. They of course have never said that to me.

Here’s the shift:
You need to eat and leave no crumbs.
Don’t just snack on Scripture—feast on it.

We’ve got people scrolling past the Bible to feed on junk, and we wonder why joy is missing and peace feels impossible. Your soul is starving while your screen time is stuffed.

So here’s my question:
What are you feeding?
The good fight of faith—or the very snakes you have to fight?

Take a good look at the nest because what you feed today might be your fight tomorrow. Its time to evict what’s been slithering in your life.

Let me encourage you, You don’t fight alone. God fights for you and with you.

And if I remember correctly- He knows how to deal with snakes.

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