If you are like me, you have days when certain things or certain people just really bug you. Those can be very stressful days and many times that is when relationships get messy. The term "stop bugging me" comes to my mind, because so many times I would like to just exclaim to certain people, "stop bugging me". I don't remember ever doing that and I am sure that it would not have helped the matter if I had of expressed myself in that manner. Unfortunately, people do bug each other from time to time and it is something that we have to learn to deal with. The best way to deal with those days is by praying instead of saying! What do I mean? When we want to get rid of these "bugs" in our lives, we need to ask God to handle the situation instead of handling it in anger towards the person or situation. God is in control and has allowed this situation or person to "bug" you. Most likely he has a purpose in it. A few years ago, I found out that purpose. Let me explain....

Several years ago a dear friend of mine invited me to a Christian Women's retreat. We were both excited about it and looked forward to spending some time together. When we arrived at the retreat center we choose a room and placed our luggage and other belongings in the room. It was a smaller room and we secretly had hopes that we would get to have it to ourselves. We then left the room and helped with some preparations for the weekend. Later that evening when we returned to our room, we found that someone else had placed their belongings in the room. We were not sure who it was yet, but to our dismay, we found that our room was now being covered with bugs. Little tiny bugs, medium size bugs, bigger bugs! Bugs, bugs, bugs, that were going everywhere. We were both horrified and did not know how to handle the situation. You see, the lady who had placed her luggage in our room, had no idea that bugs were coming from her luggage. Neither of us could imagine sleeping in that room or leaving our belongings in that room for much longer. We knew we had to move and move quickly. Fortunate for me, my friend had to handle the situation because she knew the lady. I don't know exactly how she handled it but I was instructed to quickly get my belongings out. By now all the rooms had pretty much been taken, however there was a bigger room away from everyone else in a newer section of the retreat that we were allowed to use. It was much nicer than the place we had before. It was a horrifying experience but it all turned out for the best for us. We were placed with a very Godly woman who loved the Lord and we all enjoyed our time together even though we were away from the central point of activities. We had our own private bathrooms and the place was much cleaner and fresher. What looked like a real disaster became a wonderful blessing.

Later on, I had time to walk on the beach alone and I asked God, why he let that happen. I felt so badly for the woman who had the bugs in her luggage. I know she wanted to have fellowship with other women too but no one wanted to be "bugged" by her. It was so sad. I just prayed for her and God began to show me that HE was the one "bugging" us. I asked him why he was bugging us and eventually I knew the answer. God sometimes bugs us to get us to move to a better place in our lives. Sometimes we settle somewhere and we think that is the best place for us when God wants something better for us. Every time I see a bug now, I remember when God bugged us. I am so glad that he did. It was so hard to move our things and hurt that ladies feelings but we knew we had to move and move quickly. When I see a bug now, I always ask God to show me where he wants to move me to and how I need to obey him to get there.

I believe now that God does bug us sometimes and it is always to get us to a better place. But our response to his bugging is up to us. There is a place in the bible where God bugged someone to try to move them to a better place. Let's take a few minutes to read about it.

Exodus 8:16-19

The Plague of Gnats

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats. They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came upon men and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals. The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.

Exodus 8:20-32

The Plague of the Flies
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the water and say to him, "This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and even the ground where they are.

"But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Gosen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will occur tomorrow."

And the LORD did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials and throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land." But Moses
said, "that would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, as he commands us."

Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me."

Moses answered, "As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the LORD, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only be sure that Pharaoh does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD."

Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD, and the LORD did what Moses asked: The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

The Plague of Locusts
Exodus 10:1-20

The the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD."

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to let them go, I will bring locust into your country tomorrow. They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians-something neither your fathers nor your forefathers have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now." Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?"

Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the LORD your God," he said. "But just who will be going?"

Moses answered, "We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the LORD."

Pharaoh said, "The LORD be with you-if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. No! Have only the men go; and worship the LORD, since that's what you have been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence.

And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail."

So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the LORD made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plaque of locusts, nor will there ever be again. They covered all the ground until is was black. They devoured all that was left of after the hail-everything growing in the fields and the fruit trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me."

Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them in the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
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I know that was a lot of scripture reading, however, we needed to see that God does bug people. Exodus 8:24 clearly says, 'And the LORD did this. Why was the LORD bugging Pharaoh? He was trying to rescue his people from slavery in Egypt. He wanted his people to be free to worship him and serve him. He wanted them to be in a better place. A place where they would no longer be in bondage. What do you suppose he was doing in Pharaoh's heart? I think he was giving him a chance to be obedient. Unfortunately, Pharaoh did not fear God. He continued to disobey God. He cared more about his own selfish desires than God's desires. Each time he disobeyed God his heart became harder.

Is there something that God is bugging you to do? Have you been ignoring him, avoiding him, disobeying him? It appears that the bugging may not stop until you do what he has asked you to do. He is trying to move you to a better place. Is someone bugging you? Moses and Aaron kept bugging Pharaoh but really it was God bugging Pharaoh. Please know that people who bug you most likely are there for a godly reason. Pay attention and ask God if he is working through this "buggy" person to move you in some way. It might be a painful thing to obey God but I can assure you he will move you to a better place. Don't wait to obey God. Find out why he is bugging you and do whatever he asks you to do. You don't want to be like Pharaoh and end up with a hardened heart. Disobedience to God and his Word causes our hearts to harden. Pharaoh's heart became so hardened that it caused him to drown in the Red Sea. Don't let disobedience to God cause you to drown in sin, tragedy and sorrow. Now is the time to seek the Lord for his guidance. Now get moving and do it quickly!

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for bugging us! Please don't stop bugging us, until we obey you. Help us not to be like Pharaoh and continue in disobedience until our hearts are so hardened that we drown in sin and sorrow. Give us the courage and desire to move in obedience and do it quickly. Help us not to think about our selfish desires and worry about our future. Help us to know that when we listen and obey we will definitely be blessed. Bless us today with obedient hearts and move us to the places that you want us to be, bigger and better places. We choose to obey, now stop bugging us! In Jesus name, Amen!

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