IT’S GETTIN HOT
The temperature is rising..and not just in AZ. My sunflowers are reaching for the sunshine but when it gets too hot they begin to shrink back and drop their heads. No matter how much water I give them it just isn’t enough. It’s just too hot. The newer ones that don’t have the deep roots or have been gradually taking in the heat, are dying, not just drooping. Ironically, something I hadn’t noticed before, are the two sunflowers at the end of the row. They are the strongest, largest and are thriving in the heat. It’s as if they are holding up all the other sunflowers during this most trying time….and it hasn’t hit the hottest temps yet. It’s just the beginning. For some of us, ok a lot of us, this week has proven to be a week of great despair, sadness, and even hopelessness. I’ve been a Christian a long time and even I found myself grieving. Until God reminded me of another story about heat…the kind that kills you just standing next to it. It’s the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar had a statue built for everyone to worship, only these three men chose not to. The consequenses of this defiance was to be thrown into a fiery furnace, so hot that just standing close to it would kill you. Before the king threw them in the men gave this famous line; “ We do not need to defend ourselves. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. But even if he DOESN’T, we want to make it clear to you, that we will NEVER serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up”. And at that they were thrown into the furnace. But guess who also was in the furnace? God, the one they had sworn their allegiance to, no matter the cost. They were IN the furnace where God met them and saved them. The king gave his allegiance also to their God. Like my sunflowers, those who have the deep roots and have gone through the fires can help others who have not. And for those who are feeling downcast, look to Jesus, the one who is in the furnace with us and WILL save us. Let us all lean on each other and to God because it’s just gettin hot..and not just in AZ….