I don’t know what the temperature is right now where you are, but let me tell you, it is HOT where I am. This week has been building toward the 113 mark since Sunday. I know the nation is experiencing a heat wave this week, but unfortunately this is normal for us!
Few people who drive through our town during the summer have any desire to live here. It’s like a furnace. Those who drove through during the fall or spring and decided to move here because of the beautiful weather had a very rude awakening when summer came.
Heat is very important and beneficial to mankind. According to experts it is the main source of Vitamin D through the sun; it lowers blood pressure, increases mental alertness, eases arthritis, and, as most of us learned in grade school, is the main source of energy for life and growth on earth.
However, extreme heat can be dangerous. Dehydration, sun burns, heat stroke or exhaustion. During these times, medical experts encourage us to take precautions to protect ourselves, such as stay out of the sun and drink plenty of water.
The Bible does refer to “heat” in beneficial and benign ways, but most of the references refer to extreme heat and its discomfort, as in Ps. 32:4 when David says, “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” Or in Jonah 4:8 when it says, “… and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he came faint ….”
We, too, often experience “heat” in our lives and its side effects … whether from God’s hand of conviction, life’s difficulties, or an emotional or spiritual desert or drought. But remember that relief and protection is available. Jesus is referred to as the “fountain of living water” (Jeremiah 17:13) and God is “… a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat” (Isaiah 25:4). So counter those times of uncomfortable heat by taking cover beneath God’s protection and refreshing and reviving yourself by accepting His Son’s personal sacrifice.
Few people who drive through our town during the summer have any desire to live here. It’s like a furnace. Those who drove through during the fall or spring and decided to move here because of the beautiful weather had a very rude awakening when summer came.
Heat is very important and beneficial to mankind. According to experts it is the main source of Vitamin D through the sun; it lowers blood pressure, increases mental alertness, eases arthritis, and, as most of us learned in grade school, is the main source of energy for life and growth on earth.
However, extreme heat can be dangerous. Dehydration, sun burns, heat stroke or exhaustion. During these times, medical experts encourage us to take precautions to protect ourselves, such as stay out of the sun and drink plenty of water.
The Bible does refer to “heat” in beneficial and benign ways, but most of the references refer to extreme heat and its discomfort, as in Ps. 32:4 when David says, “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” Or in Jonah 4:8 when it says, “… and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he came faint ….”
We, too, often experience “heat” in our lives and its side effects … whether from God’s hand of conviction, life’s difficulties, or an emotional or spiritual desert or drought. But remember that relief and protection is available. Jesus is referred to as the “fountain of living water” (Jeremiah 17:13) and God is “… a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat” (Isaiah 25:4). So counter those times of uncomfortable heat by taking cover beneath God’s protection and refreshing and reviving yourself by accepting His Son’s personal sacrifice.
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