All I knew was pain. I ran without direction driven by terror. I had stepped into a yellow jackets' nest.
That was many years ago when I looked down and saw my legs covered with yellow jackets but the memory still causes me to shiver. I was reminded of this yesterday when I felt like bees were buzzing around my head. They weren't literal bees. They were negative thoughts. Fear, anger, hopelessness, stung my mind. I am no longer a child. I have learned what to do when I am tormented by negative thoughts.
In the book of Ezra God's people are rebuilding the temple after they came back from captivity. The people around them set out to discourage them and make them afraid. They wrote letters to the king accusing them. They succeeded at bringing the work to a standstill. That is until Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet came on the scene.
It was as if these two prophets took the curtains of Heaven and pulled them back revealing God on the throne. Once they saw themselves with an eternal perspective they were filled with courage. The people set to work and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
What I have learned over the years is that I am not at the mercy of the painful, hurtful things that happen in my life. Do they happen? Yes. Still, I am not at their mercy. I have a choice. One of the promises Jesus made was that He would send a Helper. He promised to send His Spirit and He did.
Haggai and Zechariah caused God's people to refocus. I too must choose daily to focus my mind on the truth of what God has done for me. I find new mercy every morning as I renew my mind according to His Word. I see the yellow jackets stinging my legs, I feel the pain, but with the hand of faith I knock them off.
Lord Jesus, here I am again. I am weak but You are strong. Show me today how to be strong with Your strength. Please redeem my sorrow and use it for Your glory.
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