Turn Up the Heat

Isaiah 58:11 NASB
""And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail."

Anger and pain are often associated with feelings and adjectives associated with heat. When a personal or business relationship fails, you may feel as if you’ve been “burned”. Your face may flush red with heat when you are angry, probably the origin of the term “hot head” for someone who is mad. If someone infuriates you, they may “burn you up”. When your heart is broken, you may think that it has been seared and you might never survive the scars to love again. Another phrase that comes to mind when we are bone-tired and weary is “burned out”.

Our God knows our pain. He understands.

Recently while reading Isaiah 58:11 I was struck by the promise that God will satisfy my desire in scorched places and give strength to my bones. In the original Hebrew, the word scorched is also translated as parched land or drought. And yet the primitive root of that word is a verb that means to be dazzling, aglow. In Ezekiel 37 the Lord brings dry bones back to life, which ties into His promise here in Isaiah to give strength to your bones.

There have been times when I have been burned, seared, and burned out… where my heart was numb and my bones were weary unto death… and God was there. In the midst of it, even as I was “going through the fire”, He never left my side. He has been faithful, and taken me through it – not out of it – but through it. Instead of allowing me to hide or self-medicate to deaden the pain, He held me while together we sat with the pain. It taught me lessons I never could have learned in a textbook, and has made me stronger. Since then I can honestly say my heart has been reignited with life by His love for me – He never let the spark die. And while I am sure there will be times ahead where I will again have to “walk through the fire”, I can be assured and at peace because His promises do not fail, and He remains faithful to His Word… and His love truly endures forever.

I have learned that if He calls us to the scorching place, it is only to purify us as gold, to teach us, and to make us more into His likeness.

With Pen in Hand...

Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

I have a thing about writing instruments, always have. I have always loved the new box of crayons with their brilliant little bright heads peeking up out of the box, fragrant with the promise of creativity and art dreams. Of course, ink markers are wonderful as well, and any kind of colored pencils. But pens, ah, here is where the heart beats faster – when you open a journal page and have the perfect pen, it’s a little bit of heaven. The pen cradles into your hand like a custom fit, the smooth ink flows and practically writes the words itself, smooth and neat and precise.

Awhile back my mom happened to give me a pen, and it was love at first write. Fantastic! I was inspired, and the ink went right to my head. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a new life form, but it was a darned good writing pen. Since then, every time I’m in Staples, I get more of this brand of pen. I can’t get enough of these bad boys, I now have a stash in my purse, on my home desk, in my briefcase, there’s everywhere!!! So the other day, I opened up a new batch of babies with far too much excitement (seriously, I obviously need a life here), and pulled a few out, tossed them in my purse, and happily went about my business. Later in the day, I rooted around in the endless pit that is said purse, grabbed one, and begin to write. Three letters, then a skip, one more word, then another skip. What?!?!!? What?!!? My trusted pen was skipping and missing all over the place. I pulled out a second – no!!!! Say it’s not so – same problem!!!! It was frustrating for this crazy pen-lover. I guess they had been sitting around awhile and the ink had begun drying up for lack of use.

Well, it got me to thinking… am I like this pen in my Christian walk? Stay with me here, I’m not over the edge… seriously, is my consistency in my relationship with Christ, and my day-to-day life in Him, as hit or miss as this pen? You know, I can still “look good” on the outside – shiny bright, lookin’ all kinds of happy and obedient, tossing off all the standard-issue “Christianese” words that make me look more holy than a little girl in her patent leather MaryJanes and new hat at Easter! But that doesn’t mean anything if my interior isn’t right – my heart, my thoughts, my attitude, my daily reliable time meeting with my Father in prayer and the reading of His word. Is my walk fresh and new each day, or have I become complacent and allowed my faith to sit on the shelf and dry up like the ink in my pen?

My life, much like everyone else, is crazy busy, and I struggle to set aside time each day to be with my Savior. Or maybe I’ll squeeze in a few moments to read at the end of the day, then try not to fall asleep. I have every good intention of getting up early to spend time with Him first, and next thing I know I’m praying haphazardly as I negotiate my way through my morning commute. 2 Samuel 22:26 tells us to show ourselves faithful. Romans 12:12 exhorts us to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” And in Revelation 2:10 we are called to be faithful.

I want my daily living to be an unswerving, smooth, regular relationship with my God. Not blotchy, or spotty, or with patches of barely-there-ness. When the book of my life is opened when I am laid to rest and go to meet my Father, I want page after page to read the solidly-inked story of a life well-lived and wholly dedicated to Him.

May I be reminded of this every time I pick up a pen from now on!