it's the heat...

Sociologists (and others who study such things) say that, in general, people are meaner to each other when it's hot.  I believe that this must be true.  Lately, under the shadeless pounding of the relentless triple-digit temperatures in the region, I have observed this first-hand.

I have watched as drivers become increasingly aggressive and dangerous to everyone around them.  Mind you that their windows are all rolled up so I'm just assuming that they are riding in air-conditioned comfort as they dash past everyone else, careening in and out of lanes and crossing three lanes at a time to make an exit.  Nevertheless, we'll blame it on the heat.

It's not just behavior in traffic, either.  People take it to the speaker at their favorite drive through restaurant.  Get a grip!  If they ask you to repeat your order, just do it...after all, they're just trying to get it right.  There is never any excuse to be rude to someone else.  Don't think that they are inept or stupid; it's not easy to decipher what you're hearing through a head-set with all the background noise (passing traffic, for example) and truthfully, if you've never experienced it personally, it sounds a lot like Charlie Brown's teacher.  Be nice.  At least they are working an honest job and not increasing your taxes by drawing a check from the government that someone else should be getting!

Then there is the customer who comes in a retail establishment with a big old chip on their shoulder; they're just looking for a fight.

It goes on and on...sadly.

It's the heat, they say.  Everyone's miserable.  Okay, I'll concede that when it's hot...humans get huffy.  But, I want to take that a step farther right now.  From another point of view, let's consider the situation where the enemy is turning up the heat with adverse circumstances.

On numerous occasions in the Bible, it is recorded that some prophet had to remind God's people, AGAIN, of all the blessings they had received by His hand.  Things heated up, they became quarrelsome, and it just went downhill from there...time after time.  In Nehemiah's day, they had been in foreign captivity for several decades and once again, it was recorded, "...neither were they mindful of Thy wonders that Thou didst among them..."

I think we're the same way today.  When things heat up around us...we get forgetful...we just forget to remember!  We often use the circumstances that we find ourselves in, to gripe and complain and whine about how it's just not fair.  Have you ever noticed that when the enemy starts heating things up in our lives that it often gets worse before it gets better?  Maybe, just maybe, we are prolonging our own deliverance.

In the same verse that I mentioned before (Nehemiah 9:17), you have to keep going, "...neither were they mindful...BUT, Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not."  There it is!  No matter what we're going through, no matter how often we forget to remember...He's still faithful.  His great love is past finding out.  There's no explaining it.  Even when we behave like spoiled brats, His love and mercy and grace still abounds.

He longs to pour out the refreshing, thirst-quenching water of His Word to remind us that He is never far away...that help is on the way...that we need to be mindful of all our great blessings.

So, when it gets "hot"...don't complain, just rejoice and be glad that this current situation is going to change...God promised that He would never, ever allow us to be tormented with more than we could bear...so, believe that promise...remember all the glorious victories in your life, and give thanks with a truly grateful heart.  Love and thankfulness toward Him, STILL touches His heart.  We, as parents, understand that completely.  So, don't let the heat get you down.  Stay strong in the Word and don't forget to remember!

how great is our God!

"The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice..."

Whenever I hear Chris Tomlin sing this beautiful worship song (How Great Is Our God), I am overcome with gratitude and adoration.  My heart nearly bursts with the pure joy that our Lord imparts to us daily.

"He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice,
Trembles at His voice..."

How can I have a 'blue' day for very long when I pause to think of the truth is these words?!

"How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God..."

This time of year, my mind wanders into the strangest avenues at times.  I bite into the warm sunshine of a garden-fresh tomato and I think to myself, "My sweet Jesus (as a mere man) never tasted anything so wonderful, and yet He prepared them for me to enjoy. How great is our God!

"Age to Age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end..."

Age to Age and generation to generation, His pure love never wavers; His mercy and grace are magnificent in the scope of their reach.  To me, to my children, to my children's children...on and on it goes!

"The God-head, three in one
Father, Spirit, Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb..."

Perfect, matchless, beautiful peace.  Nothing, no nothing, can alter this great peace that defies human reasoning---it's past finding out.  The road of life is often strewn with obstacles, and yet!  He is always there, keeping our restless hearts and minds in perfect peace.  How great is our God!

"Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God..."

Whisper it...the name of 'Jesus'...let it linger in your ears...'Jesus'...how precious is that lovely name!

"How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God."

The beautiful mornings, the rainy days, He made them all.  He made all things for us to richly enjoy.  No, He never tasted a sun-ripened tomato, but He made sure that I could!  HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!!!