It’s easy to get whipped into anger and indignation these days. With social media, we hear people’s conflicting opinions more than we used to. News outlets keep the injustices of the world constantly before our eyes.
Some time ago, I noticed the harmful effect of stirred-up women in Acts 13:50. In the KJV this passage says: “But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.” Some other translations use the word “stirred”; some say “incited.”
In this chapter, Paul and Barnabas had come to Antioch and shared the gospel, and many believed. “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him,” verse 45 (ESV). Then by verse 50 the Jews stirred up others to expel the preachers.
I know the passage refers to men as well, but it struck me both as a woman reader and as someone who has seen the results of getting stirred up woman both in others and in myself.
I looked up the Greek word translated as “stirred” or “Incited” in this verse and found it is only used here. So I looked up other verses using the English word “stir.” An interesting study!
One can be stirred up in a bad way (all references are from the ESV unless otherwise noted):
- All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life (Psalm 56:5-6).
- Deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men. For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord, for no fault of mine, they run and make ready (Psalm 59:2-3).
- Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men, who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually (Psalm 140:1-2).
- Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses (Proverbs 10:12).
- A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Proverbs 15:1).
- A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention (Proverbs 17:18).
- A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched (Proverbs 28:25).
- A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression (Proverbs 29:22).
- And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him [Jesus] and seized him and brought him before the council (Acts 6:12).
- Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion (Acts 21:30-31). (There are several passages in Acts about people being stirred up after the apostles preached.)
- As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned (Titus 3:10-11).
Or one can be stirred up in a good way:
- And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord‘s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments (Exodus 35:21).
- And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair [for the tabernacle] (Exodus 35:25-26).
- And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work (Exodus 36:2).
- Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5).
- Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Hebrews 10:23-25).
- Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands (2 Timothy 1:6, KJV).
- Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities [in verses 3-11], though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder…(2 Peter 1:13).
- This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles (2 Peter 3:1-2).
Furthermore, “stirring” can be done by God, by ourselves, by other people, and by situations.
Sometimes we need stirring. Hosea speaks of sinful people “like a heated oven
whose baker ceases to stir the fire” (7:4b). A fire that’s not stirred might go out. Food that isn’t stirred while cooking will heat unevenly.
But sometimes we’re stirred up to the point of getting out of hand. Whipping cream is supposed to be stirred into a frenzy, but not scrambled eggs or vegetable soup. We can be rightly stirred up about an issue and handle it wrongly.
So when I feel “stirred up,” I need to ask myself:
What is stirring me up? Is this from God, from myself, from others?
What emotions are stirred up? Anger, spite, selfishness, jealousy? Or love and compassion?
Am I being stirred up to a mindless, destructive frenzy or to purposeful usefulness?
What am I stirred up to do? Lash out? Exact vengeance? Harm? Put someone in their place? Use my gifts to help others? Serve? Love?
I think of Amy Carmichael, stirred to compassion and action when a young Indian girl came to her care, rescued from being sold into prostitution at a temple in India. Amy eventually directed the building of an entire compound to house and teach both boys and girls.
Or William Wilberforce and Hannah More, who not only prayed against the evil of slavery but were stirred up to fight against it.
When I first read of the stirred-up women in Acts13, I only saw the danger. Their stirring led to the persecution of God’s messengers.
But after this study, I see being stirred up not just as a danger, but as a power for good or evil. Self examination in the light of God’s Word will help me understand whether that stirring is something I need to yield to or to confess and repent of.
(Revised from the archives)
(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)
Stray Thoughts 
Now I’m all stirred up about being stirred up 😌
🙂
Hi Barbara! Great message this morning! I feel a stirring in my spirit! Thank you!
Good to see you again!
Excellent message. Thank you. Have a blessed week! 🙂
Thank you. You, too!
What a needed message!! I realized that my being stirred up by watching the news every day was causing problems for my spirit!! Depression, sadness, powerlessness – the cost is too high. There will be changes in my life!!
Thank you for speaking to my heart.
I don’t watch the news much for that reason. I listen to the radio news a couple of times a day–everything is abbreviated, and there are no visuals. I don’t want to be ignorant of what’s going on in the world, but I also don’t want to constantly stew over what’s going on.
You come up with so many good topics! When I first saw the “stirred up” verbiage, I immediately thought of negative examples. Interesting to read all the times in the Bible people were stirred up with good intents. It seems to me that so much of the negative stirring up these days is courtesy of social media. For all its good points and all the time I admittedly spend there, I’ll admit that I would really prefer if it weren’t around.
I like FB for keeping up with my siblings and some old friends. But it has taught me I can’t possibly keep up with everyone I have ever known. Plus it’s shown me people have surprising opinions I would never have guessed. 🙂 If I had it to do over again, I’d only “friend” my family and a few others. But I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by unfriending them. I do think social media. especially Twitter/X, has been responsible for a lot of stirring up of things over the last few years.
I think we are called to stir it up in a good way.
Agreed, beginning with letting God stir our hearts rather than negative happenings.
Enjoyed this a great deal Ms. Barbara. Something your words caused me to do was consider how when I am stirred negatively, it often brings about a positive stirring. Something else I’ve considered is how a negative stirring primarily happens from external forces being applied to your life, while a positive stirring begins within us. How important is it then, that we listen to what’s (and Who) is within and allow that/Them to influence more than those external forces. An example, news or “anti-social” media can cause me to focus momentarily upon this world. That ALWAYS leads to frustration, anxiety, anger, and fearfulness. When that happens, the Holy Spirit is stirred within me to remind me that I am no longer of this world. That positive stirring serves to restore my peace and joy as it refocuses my attention inward and upon the things of heaven and not those things of this world. Great insights ma’am. Thank you so much.
That is such a good point, that God can use those stirrings over something negative and turn it into a positive as we pray about it, give it to Him, and seek His wisdom and guidance about dealing with it.
What a fascinating word study, and such valuable insights that you shared. Good reminder that I probably need, because I can get stirred up about stuff, and it’s important to differentiate between stirring up trouble and stirring up goodness and the gift of God.
Thank you for this enlightening piece. Your exploration of being ‘stirred up’ from different biblical perspectives shed light on a very relevant issue in today’s climate of social and political unrest. Your commentary prompts a deeper self-reflection on how we react to external stimuli and the emotions they evoke. It’s a potent reminder that being stirred can either lead to constructive action or destructive behavior depending on our awareness and choices. Your examples of Amy Carmichael and William Wilberforce illustrate the power of channeling our stirred emotions towards righteous causes. Looking forward to more of your thought-provoking writings.
This ol’ world’s gotten very sad,
Jimmy Buffett’s gone, and that is BRUTAL,
but you won’t find me feelin’ bad,
’cause my feet are up and mind’s in neutral,
sitting on my digi-beach,
drinking so much beer it’s scary,
but saving blue cans, each by each
to form sculpture of the Virgin Mary,
which will be my contribution
to our church Nativity.
Pastor thinks an institution
might be the right place for me,
but as he’s talking, all the while,
I can see a little smile.
Not kidding. I have floated the idea of a Nativity scene made of beer cans, inspired by the Irish blessing, ‘May you spend eternity with the Holy Family by a lake of beer.’
Barbara, this post is filled with much for us all to think on. What is stirring us? May we know when to turn off what stirs us wrongly and turn up what stirs us to good.
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This is wonderful, Barbara! Prayerfully may I ask the Lord to stir up my heart for all that He wants of me, and calm any stirring that is not of Him.
Yes (!). I so appreciated this prayer, Lynn, and am praying it for myself as well. For all of us. Blessings.
Barbara, I love your thoughts here. And a good reminder to make sure we are stirred up with God and not of the world or evil. I think good stirring brings peace and joy whereas worldly or evil stirring brings discontent and confusion.
Barbara, I love your thoughts here. A great reminder. I think stirring up by God gives us peace and joy whereas stirring up by the world gives us discontent and confusion.
Great post Barbara! We’re seeing this around the world at the moment with the “wars & rumours of wars”.
Each side are stirred up in their own “righteous anger” over the other’s actions or the inaction of Western Countries.
Sadly, there are no winners in war. Only death & destruction on all sides. Maranatha!
Jennifer
I totally agree with you regarding social media. If there isn’t something to talk about, they find something and it’s usually not very beneficial. I remember when my husband was alive – if I was grumbling about someone or something, he’d ask if I wanted a spoon to ‘stir it up.’ I find that God has a way of ‘stirring me up’ when I need it. We need that sometimes so that we can be salt and light. Have a great day.
Barbara, what an amazing message. I love your insights and encouragement here.
Thanks bunches for sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month sweet friend.