Mosquitoes

Proverbs 4:25
Let your eyes look directly ahead [toward the path of moral courage]
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you [toward the path of integrity].

Hebrews 12:1-3

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of [a]witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, 2 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, [b]disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].

3 Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

While on my recent vacation to Glacier National Park, we had an encounter with the local wildlife that gave me a prime example of what I want to talk about today.

I am going to share this picture while I talk.

While we were waiting to use our timed entry pass into the Going to the Sun Road (the most popular and scenic road in Glacier), we explored a little and were hoping to find a hike we could do. We found this hike called Huckleberry lookout. We read the sign and the map that showed it would take us to a lookout station, then on to a lake! We were excited! We started down the forest path and immediately were greeted by a doe. The beautiful animal walked right up to us and was within 10 feet of each of us. We were so shocked by the suddenness of the deer, it didn’t register to me at the time that the deer was COVERED in mosquitos. That would have been a sign to me that I needed to go back to the car immediately and grab a sweatshirt or put my hood up, or something different than what I was doing. IT also would have helped if we had had bug spray with us. But I digress.

We started walking, hearing the buzzing in our ears, hoping it would end and we’d be able to get going. However, the more we progressed the more mosquitoes attacked us. It was almost like they were defending their territory.

We made it about a quarter to maybe close to a third of a mile into the 6 mile hike and had to turn back and leave because of how many mosquitoes there were. All told, I had 10-15 bites, Amber had 5 on 1 hand and a few others elsewhere. Despite Jude’s bright red hair, the mosquitoes left him mostly alone, only 1 bite. Now, I certainly did not expect to be defeated by mosquitoes. I thought maybe bears? A moose? Wolves? Anything but a bugs.

Yet this paints a great picture for me to describe and hopefully share some spiritual principles along the way.

Jesus likens the road to the kingdom as small and hard to find. (Matthew 7:13-14) We all know that life has challenges that make it seem like a trail in the woods. Full of twists and turns. I think, much like our trip, some of us go in expecting things like bears and moose on the road. You know those BIG life things that we all know happen. We enter the path expecting to have to use our bear spray, but do we stop to consider using our sunscreen or our bug spray?

Everywhere in Glacier, you see stark reminders that there are bears. When we to the nature hut near the visitors center, the ranger talked about how they have maybe 600 black bears and maybe an additional 300 Grizzlies in the park. Unless provoked, they tend to avoid humans and human activities. Most of the animals were “far away from the tourist spots” another guide said because by nature they are shy around man. The odds are HIGHER that you may see a bear, or a moose in Glacier due to the proximity of many of the popular trails to normal habitats of these animals, but you are still talking about a park that is nearly 1.5 million acres of land. Still, there’s always the threat of bears and other large predators (wolverines, wolves, etc) being there and if in the right mood ready to take you on.

In life, I think we have the high chance of having something happen in a big way right? We have all had those negative type things, like getting fired from a job, or having a loved one get an unexpected diagnosis, divorce, death. All these things we don’t understand WHY it happens, but we all know that it COULD happen.

What we do not expect is something much more insidious. Much smaller, much more challenging to deal with. Mosquitoes. Those small irritants that bite. 1 or 2 is not an issue, but they cause swelling, pain, itch, and annoyance.

However, if mosquitoes attack at volume, it no longer becomes an annoyance, it becomes a threat worse than bears.

That also doesn’t describe the potential for longer term issues too. Mosquitoes carry lots of diseases, West Nile, Malaria, the new one in China that was recently discovered… In the natural mosquitoes are nasty.

However, Spiritually Mosquitoes can be likened to things we view as small. The writer describes this in Hebrews 12:1 like this “let us throw off sin AND THE THINGS THAT SO EASILY ENTANGLE us” those little things that bite have an effect on our spiritual lives. Sure, we may not know it right away. But just like actual bites from a mosquito, these things that easily entangle us, the sin that besets us, however small we think it may be at that time can have lasting consequences. We all watch tv shows where a little lie sparks a HUGE dramatic blow up between characters. We have all seen the power of distraction as things like “Doom Scrolling” become part of popular culture. These little bites can damage our relationships, swell our pride, and make us an irritant to those around us.

The only way to protect ourselves from these types of things is to remember to put on the full armor of God. The Bible gives us directions on how to protect ourselves from these “small” things that can have big impact:

Ephesians 6:10-20
¹⁰ In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. ¹³ Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. ¹⁴ So stand firm and hold your ground, having ^[b]tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), ¹⁵ and having ^[c]strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. ¹⁶ Above all, lift up the [protective] ^[d]shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

¹⁸ With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all ^[e]God’s people. ¹⁹ And pray for me, that words may be given to me when I open my mouth, to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news [of salvation], ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. And pray that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly and courageously, as I should.