Dear Faith Family, 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows, (Psalm 23:5). 

It’s that time of year again.  I know.  I know.  “It’s too hot!”  But, deer season is back.  And, up in the stand I did climb.  Keep in mind that it was not yet fully light.  Around the stand was a camouflage wrap that was folded on itself over the stand.  As I was about to summit the stand, I heard a vaguely familiar buzzing sound.  If you’ve hunted from a deer stand, you already know what’s coming. 

Cautiously I backed down the ladder a couple of rungs.  Every time I poked the wrap, you guessed it: “buzzzzzzz”.  Although I was unable to immediately see what was lurking in the fold of the wrap, I had a pretty good idea that I was dealing with something that I didn’t want to be dealing with in the dark at the top of a ladder in a swamp on the first hunt of a new season.  You get the picture. 

Fast forward.  As settled as I could be in the seat of the stand, I began to search for the buzzing intruder.  I’m quite sure that I wasn’t the only one searching and that I also qualified as an intruder at that point.  Finally, after enough light and careful inspection, I discovered the wasp nest and one unhappy wasp.  My immediate goal was to remove the intruder with minimum collateral damage.  In other words, I didn’t cherish the thought of being stung, period, much less being stung while perched up in the air.  I also didn’t want to alert the county that there was a hunter in the house. 

Here’s what I did not do.  I didn’t take the time to admire the contracting skills of the wasp.  I didn’t take pictures and marvel at the beautiful colors or markings on the wasp at hand.  And I didn’t invite the wasp to recline on my hand so that I might investigate the intricate workings of it’s stinger.  I wanted it gone!   

Interestingly enough, a wasp can “scrape bits of wood fiber from fences, logs, or even cardboard….  Then the wasp breaks the wood fibers down in her mouth, using saliva and water to weaken them.  The wasp flies to her chosen nest site with a mouth full of soft paper pulp.” (thoughtco.com)  Wasps are portable, mobile paper mills!  I didn’t care.  I still wanted it gone! 

How many are the “predicaments” that intrude in our lives?  How much do we want them gone?  How much of the glory of God do we overlook in the face of our uncomfortable “intruders” (Insert here:  unwanted employers or employees, unwelcome medical test results, uninvited test scores, unsolicited circumstances, etc.  You get the picture.)? 

Here’s what I’m trying to say.  Are you able to discover the presence and practice of God (His “wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” – The Shorter Catechism, Q. 4) in the face of your “intruders”?  Or do you just want to rid yourself of the “intruders”? 

Two of my favorite stories in all the Bible are found in the book of Daniel.  Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all faced off with uncomfortable “intruders” (Insert here:  King Nebuchadnezzar, lions, a Chaldean, fire!).  And yet, in the face of such intruders, the brilliance of our almighty God was vivid! 

Don’t miss the brilliance of your God because of an uncomfortable intruder.   

Surprised by His brilliance, 
Pastor Karl