where waves grow sweet

While walking around the yard barefoot and chatting it up on the phone, I suddenly felt a sharp prick on the arch of my foot. The rose bushes stood right beside me so I figured it was yet another offending thorn. A glance at the bottom of my foot, however, revealed a bee… which was still attached to its stinger… which was now attached to me. My conversation continued while I stood on one foot, staring blankly at the struggling creature and wondering how to dispatch it, preferably without actually handling it. Eventually, a solution emerged. I flicked the thing off, removed the stinger and finished my phone call. I’m not allergic to bee stings, so fortunately I didn’t swell up or die. Instead, I was left with a barely perceivable bump, followed a few days later by a fierce itch, and then nothing at all but the questionable habit of wandering around outside barefoot.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 1 Cor 15:55

I liked the sound of this verse, but never gave it much thought until the bee was stuck in my foot. The “sting” part suddenly got my attention. Any creature with a stinger can produce fear, pain and potentially death. Without it, that same creature loses its power to harm us. BUT, if we don’t realize the stinger is absent, the now-harmless bee or wasp or scorpion will still have power over us, leaving us just as fearful and paralyzed as if true danger were present. And, even if we knew that the stinger were gone, the sight of an approaching bee might still incite panic and all its reactions.

Basically, that’s all satan’s got now: intimidation based on his former stinger. He had been armed with the power of death through sin, which was strengthened by the law. But then, in an unfathomable act of love, Jesus took into Himself that deadly stinger and all the violently toxic venom intended for us; to destroy the likeness of God in humanity. “He did this, so that he could experience death and annihilate the effects of the intimidating accuser who holds against us the power of death.” (Heb 2:14-15 tpt) He rendered the devil impotent, like a bee without a stinger. The problem is that some of us still think he’s got it and some of us “know” he doesn’t, but live in doubt of that fact. 

Do we still sin? Yep. Will we still experience a physical death? Definitely. Do they still carry a sting for those who have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice? Absolutely not. “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15:57) It was a complete work. It is finished and can never be made otherwise. Sin loses its hold because we are now deemed righteous, safely hidden in Jesus and free from condemnation. And death loses its hold because we are secured for all of eternity in His love by His overcoming power. But we are in no hurry to get there because once we understand these truths, the fear that has enslaved us falls away and we are launched into the freedom of heaven while still on this earth.

No doubt about it, Satan will continue to buzz loudly nearby with intimidation and fear, as though our life were in his hands; threatening us with condemnation for our sins and angst over pain and death. But, as we step into our Christ-given inheritance, we will see that the devil does not have the final say. And we will begin to walk freely in this new life of Jesus, maybe even in our bare feet.

P.S. Hope you have a great 4th of July! What a great day to celebrate our freedom in Christ as we celebrate our country’s freedom 🙂