We have now entered the Fall of the year! Autumn or Harvest – a time for changing of leaf colors; cooler air; football season; s’mores over the fire pit; less grass to cut; new pumpkin-flavored drinks/muffins/cakes; AND a sigh of relief because we have passed the heat of the summer! Hopefully our dying plants and shrubs will get some rest now. It is not only the temperature heat but also the humidity which stifles us when we walk out of the doors of our homes on the summer mornings. Usually around the end of July/beginning of August, I have had it. I have felt as wilted as my dogwood tree below and have stayed inside as much as I can.
But then there is Fall! the last several days have been the most beautiful of all. The sky was a clear Carolina blue; the gentle breeze was blowing; the temperature was 75 degrees; the birds sounded louder and more joyous than usual; the squirrels were scampering around with nuts in their mouths; the air was crisper; the cirrus clouds were wispy and dancing across the sky; and you knew that God’s creation had changed from summer to fall. What is astounding is to watch the larger birds as they ride the currents of the wind, just as a surfer rides the largest wave for as long as he/she can. It is beyond words to witness. It is beyond words to wonder how they feel as they exert their freedom in the skies as we exert our freedom from the oppressing heat/humidity.
Mike and I completed our usual yard work – cut the grass, blew the sidewalks/driveway, edged the sidewalk/driveway. I hardly broke a sweat! (I am naturally cold-natured.) But then it happened. That God-thought came to me. The energy-depleting, draining heat and humidity of summer was over. The energy-depleting, draining heat from the enemy was over, and oh, what a relief it is!!
You know how it is when you have been battling for what seems like a really long time, and then the break-through comes. The relief washes over you from your head/mind to your feet. That burden is lifted; it is gone; you and God have won this battle together!!
This is how I felt last week after experiencing 90+ degree weather and heat indices of 100 degrees+. This cooler, beautiful weather has brought excitement, hope, joy to us – weary children of God – burdened by the heat, sticky and heavy schemes of the devil.
I am reminded of the story in Daniel 3 when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were thrown into the furnace for not worshipping the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar. The King ordered the temperature of the furnace to be raised seven times hotter, and the 3 men were bound and thrown in.
Then he spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
Daniel 3:24-25 (NKJV)
The heat from this story is like the heat or the battle from the enemy (and our summer). The trial has felt seven times hotter at times and more burdensome than previously; it has taken longer to fight through this battle and emerge victorious; BUT the Son of God has and will continue to be with us. He is the one fighting our battles for/with us. He is the one who has never left us and never will.
Therefore, we DO NOT GIVE UP!! And when that burden is lifted - as in the changing of the summer to fall – our hearts are overjoyed and soaring and absorbing all that God’s creation has for us this season. We don’t know how long this season will last – the physical or spiritual season – but praises to God that He will use it to help us, teach us, and strengthen us!
As my friend, Sandra, told our children this morning in worship, "Fall for Jesus! He never leaves!" Oh, what a relief it is to have a Fall season!
Thanks for stopping by,
Rachel
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