I've been wasp hunting before. Joel has never been with me as a participant. He wanted to go and have a go at killing the wasps himself. This seemed like a good "first" as long as we did not get stung.
Nothing like a brownie to get a fella in the wasp hunting frame of mind
Where could they be?
Joel and I went to the playground to see if could find them. Joel knew about where the young man was when he got stung. We hunted and hunted and had a hard time finding a nest. Finally, we found one. It was underneath the playground equipment up in a hole. Really? That's playing dirty. That is really a hard place to get to with wasp spray; our weapon of choice.
We are not real sure how successful we were under there. We both took a shot or two and then were a little jumpy to get back under there once they were good and stirred up. We left them for another day.
Since we were out, we took a stroll around the church and looked for other wasp nests. We found a few and Joel got them. This is all kinds of fun as long as you don't get stung. Plus, we don't want people stung at church. The only hurting we want people to have is the conviction of the Holy Spirit at church. That is a good hurting that hopefully leads to repentance.
This is real fun
As we walked around looking for wasp nests I was reminded that Satan likes to hide and attack when we don't expect it. If you are looking for wasps, you can find them and do away with them pretty easily. If you are not, you can get zapped in a hurry. I picked up a cardboard box a couple of years ago that had a nest in it. I was stung several times before I could turn that box loose. As followers of Jesus, it is pretty easy to think that life is going to go smooth or ought to go smooth. That is simply not true. There will be temptations, hurts, disappointments along the way. We need to be prepared for those. Ephesians 6:10 reminds us, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." The reason is found in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Be prepared for the enemy of your soul to try to trip you up, hurt you, steal from you, and destroy you. That is what he's about.
He fights dirty. I just did not expect the wasps to be under the plastic playground equipment in a hole. Satan loves to attack and tempt you when you are tired, discouraged, frustrated, and generally down or unsuspecting. Keep on the alert.
Joel and I had wasp spray. That helped immensely. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit, Word of God, prayer, faith, and other spiritual weapons to do battle with. Don't fight the enemy in your own strength and with mere strength of will. Keep surrendered to Jesus and let Him fight the battles through you. Near the end, we ran out of wasp spray and were just spraying air. That was not effective at all. Make sure you are filled with the Spirit.
And no, we did not get stung.
Fighting for the abundant life
Barry
3 things I thank God for today
1. Wasp spray
2. Pens
3. Cards
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