This summer we have an unusually large number of wasps around our home, and with the old house not being air-tight and doors forever opening and closing, those little fighter-jet shaped enemies get in. You perverters of the goodness of creation, I’m going to get you! So I went to Home Depot, bought my munitions, and waited for sundown, the prime time to attack. But being one for analysis, I went out before sunset to reconnoiter my bombing targets. I crawled under the deck to find their nests but, strange, couldn’t find anything. So I came out from under the deck and went up the stairs, my hand on the railing. Air raid siren! They’re in an opening in the railing. When I slid my hand right over their nest, they scrambled and attacked me. Battle report: Two stings. So last night when the sun finally went down, I pulled myself off my death bed and bombed them to kingdom come.
Which brings me to the real point. The troubles and conflicts and pains we experience have causes. Sometimes the causes are accidental. Other times they are the result of sin in our relationships with God and with one another. “For those who love God all things work together for good.” (Romans 8:28). If you retreat into solitude with yourself and your God, and in that time of reflection search for the cause for your trouble, you may well find it. Certainly God’s Word will lead you to endure. And if God’s Word leads you to realize that your trouble comes from your sin, then repentance and amendment of your sinful ways may well win the battle. “Count it all joy!” (James 1:2)
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