I got stung by a bee đ today. What caught my attention wasnât the sting, it was my response to it. I simply flicked the bee off and kept moving.
Then I remembered the last time I was stung by a bee. I was about 10 years old. I ran into my grandparentsâ house crying and eventually cried myself to sleep. Same sting. Different maturity.
When I was a child, the sting stopped everything and made me run. As a grown man, I recognized it hurt, but I refused to allow it to interrupt where I was going and what I was doing. And immediately the Holy Spirit began dealing with me:
THIS IS WHAT MATURITY LOOKS LIKE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE and GROWTH!
There was a season when every attack made you retreat.
Every betrayal hurt you.
Every criticism distracted you.
Every person who left devastated you.
Every accusation demanded a response.
Every rejection became a sermon for many of you.
1 Corinthians 13:11
âWhen I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.â
Maturity doesnât mean you stop feeling the sting.
Maturity means the sting no longer controls your movement.
Some things donât require another Facebook post.
Some things donât require retaliation.
Some things donât even require an explanation. FLICK IT OFF AND KEEP MOVING!
The Kingdom has weightier matters demanding our attention. While we are preaching about haters, God is calling us to preach CHRIST. While we are consumed with who left us, there are souls waiting to be FOUND.
While we are discussing who doesnât support us, there are nations waiting to be DISCIPLED. WE HAVE A GREAT COMMISSION TO FULFILL!
It stung youâŠ
BUT IT DIDNâT STOP YOU! THE STING IS TOO SMALL FOR THE SIZE OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT.