When Life Stings by Martin Wiles

It was a year I’d never forget and one that would change my future. Each sting was more painful and the reaction more severe.

Growing up, my cousin and I took pleasure in throwing clods of dirt at wasp nests. Though we plundered in old sheds and wandered through woods, I was never stung until I was a young adult.

Then came the year I was stung every time my brother and I hiked. With the exception of one occasion, I never saw the culprit; just felt the pain like a needle jabbed in my leg.

One incident finally sent me to the doctor. We were tent camping, and after breaking camp and heading up the trail, I soon felt a familiar jab on my calf. 

Shortly thereafter, my hands began to tingle, my ears started ringing and my throat became lumpy. Fortunately, Benadryl and a more relaxed pace stymied the symptoms and allowed me to make it back to the car. The doctor prescribed an Epee Pen.

Life’s stings can be more painful than a wasp or bee.

In 2 Corinthians 6:5 Paul talks of “beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger.”(NIV)

Paul certainly had his share: beatings, mobs, exhaustion, sleepless nights, shortage of food, jail, a shipwreck. Name the sting and he had probably felt the jab.

I’ve felt a few myself: betrayal, brokenness, depression, addiction, and financial hardship. Occasionally I only treated the symptoms and ignored the underlying causes. But sometimes I had enough sense to carry medicine and put on long pants.

Life’s stings are never enjoyable but it’s inevitable we’ll all face some. Some stings are self-initiated because we wore the wrong attire or forgot to take preventative medicine. But whether self inflicted or other-induced, God will either remove the consequences or carry us through them.

Paul’s stings matured rather than destroyed him and ours can too. The stings don’t mean God has left or is unconcerned, just that we live in a sinful world with consequences or that we need to correct a behavior or thought.

When the stings of life are intense, help us Lord to trust You for direction and comfort.

Read about Martin on the Lead Writers Page.  

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Thankful for God's comfort when life stings!