Stir up a Hornet's Nest

No doubt you’ve heard the old adage, “He stirred up a hornet’s nest!” This week I actually lived this out in a very real way.

A few days ago, I spotted large red wasps and hornets buzzing around my backyard. With my dogs—especially my small foster pups—playing outside, I was concerned about the risk of stings. Determined to find the nest, I kept a close watch and soon saw a hornet emerging from my damaged grill, which had been wrecked during Hurricane Beryl. I quickly grabbed a can of wasp spray and prepared to tackle the problem.

Y’all.

A horror show awaited me. Angry red hornets came flying out of a nest that was about the size of a small cantaloupe. It all happened so fast. The hornets were massive and so were the white wormy-looking creatures also slithering out of the holes in the nest. I flew into action (pun intended) and did my best to kill as many as I could, ducking and swerving as I went. Thank God I did not get stung. The wasp spray was effective. Most of the hornets died, but a few got away, no doubt happy to live another day.

All's Well that Ends Well?

I dragged the busted grill to the front of the garage so that I would remember to drag it to the curb on big trash day. But one problem remained: There were at least three VERY angry hornets searching for their nest and they made their presence known every single time I stepped outside in the days that followed. They were vicious. They were desperate. In short, they were stirred up. From that point on, I was marked as Enemy Number One and they dive-bombed me every chance they got. I’m still battling them, even as I write this post. The battle might go on for a while, but I won’t give up. I will conquer them.

There’s an implication (going back to the old adage) that you don’t want to be the one who stirs up the hornet’s nest. Just keep the peace. Don’t get worked up. And I get it. We don’t want to be troublemakers.

But, let’s look at this from a different angle.

We’re living in a day when the hornets are setting up camp all around us. They build their nests near our homes and they hover, ready to attack—our families, our friends, our beliefs, our churches, our schools. They dart and fly and threaten at every turn. We often walk right by them and pretend they are not there while they secretly grow the nest larger and larger.

Some would say, “Just leave those nests alone. Ignore them. For pity’s sake, don’t stir them up.”

But, folks. SOMEONE has to be brave enough to spray the nest. We might not get them all, but if no one speaks up, if no one calls evil EVIL, then before long the whole yard is infested and we can’t let the kids play outside anymore.

It takes courage to stand up to a culture that contradicts everything the Word of God teaches. But that same Word is far more powerful than any can of wasp spray. We can use it to take down strongholds and protect our homes, our families, and our hearts.

Sure, we’ll still have a few angry pests to battle on the daily once we make our presence known. But it will be worth it in the end, to get rid of the infestation. The kids will be safe to play in the yard again. And we can go to our graves, knowing that we took a stand for what was right. We can stand before God and say, “I gave it my best shot.”

All that to say...

I’m planning to stir up a few hornets’ nests while I’m here on the planet. I hope you will join me. And may the world be better off for it.

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." – 2 Cor 10:3-5