How about these hot temperatures? It is definitely summer time complete with the longer days, less frequent rain showers and most certainly the triple digit heat ind exes! The news anchors, we at h e rme n and radio DJ’s are all telling of the great dang e r of working out in the outdoors with the excessive heat and use extreme caution!
I try to schedule my outdoor activities to a time when it is somewhat cooler. But, sometimes, that does not always happen. As a Pastor, my schedule never seems to coincide with the cooler times of the day.
Lawn care seems to be a biggie. I can’t mow in morning due to the dew on the grass. I hate to mow wet grass. It seems like mowing and weed eating happen after 5 p.m. You know, when the sun is hot and the temperature is at its height!
We have had a couple of building projects going at the church. One is indoors and there is no air conditioning. Granted it is a shaded area, but the fans blowing the air around is just blowing around 100 degree air. And one of the other projects is indoors but, as fate would have it, the day we work we discover the A/C is not working and it is 90 degrees! We were soaked with sweat when the job was finished.
A couple of weeks ago, I was taking pictures for an Associational youth camp. It was hot and humid and I had to do a considerable amount of walking. Some of the pictures had to be taken in an open field, no shade and the sun beating straight down in the early afternoon. To say it was hot would be an understatement.
We have a VBS coming up soon and some of the props have to be built…outdoors…in the heat.
There are other things that have taken me outdoors, in this crazy heat (gardening, working on my side-by-side, outdoor baptism at swimming pool & grilling supper so we don’t have to heat up kitchen and house). You just do the best you can.
One thing about all the heat and working outside in it that I find refreshing….is a tall, ice cold water. There is nothing more refreshing than having a bottle or glass of cold water to cool you off. Whether you drink it slowly, or just chug it all in one drink, it feels so GOOD! Of course, it usually takes another bottle or glass to further satisfy.
I am reminded that in our spiritual lives we get hot, dry and thirsty, also. We serve God in times that are challenging, demanding and sometimes difficult. It seems we go and go and go, give and give and give. We can find our self to the point of being ready to drop.
The Bible tells us about this. Jesus at the well in Samaria with the Samaritan woman is an example. He sits and rests but when He sees the woman coming to the well He asks for a drink and ends up giving her a living water (John 4).
David was at war with the Philistines, camped in the cave of Adullam. He yearned for a drink from the well at Bethlehem. Three of his thirty men risked their lives and brought the drink to David to which he poured on the ground as an offering to the Lord. (2Samuel 23) And, while the Israelites were in the wilderness, no water was to be found and the wandering Hebrews cried out to Moses and Aaron. Moses cries to God. God tells Moses to strike the rock and water will come forth and provide water for the people (Exodus 17).
Water, refreshing, satisfying and life giving and preserving…it was in the Bible and still is today. Jesus’ words in John 7 tell us that if “anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
We try to quench or thirst with so many substitutes that will bring only temporal satisfaction. We drink Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper (other soft drinks), iced tea and/or alcoholic beverages. These may seem good for a moment but leave us still thirsting. Only the water can replenish and satisfy.
The same is true spiritually. Jesus is the living water and with Him, we will never thirst again!
Headed to the Water Fountain, Bro. Tim
