Wars, Battles and Yellow Jackets

Defeated warrior. Won the battle, lost the war.

Want to guess who won?

There was a battle, and it was not pretty.  I didn’t see it, but my warrior (husband) relayed the first hand account as he came inside battle-scarred and in pain.  He is charge of all of the yard work now, and was using an electric trimmer on some hedges at his favorite mother-in-law’s house.

What he didn’t know was that since their last trimming, a new community had taken residence at the base of the bush.  If you know flying, buzzing critters, you may know they usually don’t like loud noises, and they don’t take kindly to their homes being shaken and disturbed.  

With the noise of the electric trimmer in his ear, he didn’t readily hear the buzzing of the unhappy shrub dwellers.  He said the “yellow jacket dance” was one of his best, but the little guys were heavily armed.  They (or at least one) got him, and got him good.  His sweet little (excuse me, I meant to say big and brawny) leg paid the price. It was brutal. We looked for the stinger, and found none on the wounded appendage so we began our home remedies.  Alcohol, Witch Hazel, Campho-phenique, then went for the big drugs; Benadryl and Ibuprofen.  He was a brave, albeit wounded, soldier.

 I can’t say that I blame them, I’m protective of my family and home too, but they didn’t consult the proper housing authority before they took up residence. They drew first blood, now there would be war.  The one who caused the pain and suffering of course, was the first to go.  We waited until later that afternoon when (we hoped) that all their clan was home, and doused it with a gallon (seriously, a gallon) of insecticide.  I came for moral support and back up, so I waited outside the normal strike perimeter and tried to look innocent.   A few outsiders came to inspect our activity, but none went into or out of their “front door”.  (Believe me, I looked for any back door but found none.)

Satan has taken the form of a serpent in the past. I don’t know if he ever uses insect disguises or not, but as much destruction as these guys can employ, we would not be the first to suggest a label of them their kind as “evil”.  I’ve heard people comment that when they get to heaven, they will ask God why He ever made wasps, mosquitoes, hornets and such.  

Satan is the enemy of the children of God, make no mistake.  He will employ every means available to harm us, discourage us, to cause us to doubt or go astray.  He has read the end of the Book, and knows how it ends.  He loses and spends eternity in the Lake of Fire.  Eternity.  No hope. No reprieve. 

Because he knows his time is drawing short, Satan is full of wrath (Rev 12:12).  Knowing he is on the prowl and continually seeking who he may devour, it behooves us to be prepared, to be armed and equipped.  Our defense is our faith.  His stings are described as fiery darts much worse than hornet stings, but they can not penetrate or shake our faith because it is the armor given to us by our Father.  Our shield of faith holds true against his attacks so we can stand firm.   The sword of the Spirit (the Word of god) is our offence (Ephesians 6). 
By building your faith, you create your own iron dome of defense. 
By studying God’s Word, you build your offense. 
     Spend time there. 
     Spend time there today. 
     Spend time there everyday. 
You don’t want holes in your armor or your shield.  You want both a healthy defense and offense.  

He will come after you, but you CAN stand firm.  If you take time to build your defenses when that time comes, you will be glad you did!  It will never be time wasted, and there will never be anything else more important.

Father, 

thank you for equipping us for every event you allow into our lives.  

Help us today to be good soldiers, 

building up our defense of faith and our offense of Your Holy Word.  

Thank you for giving us the assurance that while Satan may be victorious in some battles, 

You have already won the war.

I pray in Jesus' precious name,

Amen

Overcomer, Mandisa

Interested in more stories of faith including a precious hummingbird I named Oscar? 

Read the first chapter here

For the rest of the story...find Oscar on these online retailers...

Amazon

Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan

Barnes and Noble