Hot Garments Job 37

You whose garments are hot when the land is still because of the south wind? Can you, with Him, spread out the skies, strong as a molten mirror? Job 37:17-18 NASB

This has been one of the coldest Novembers on record, so let's talk about something warm! Actually, things are heating up in this country (USA) with Ferguson, Missouri, on fire after the announcements last night. And there is one thing about both of these situations: I have no control over either event. I cannot control the weather. I had nothing to do with a kid and a cop and a grand jury and Al Sharpton. I have no control over the world around me. And sometimes that reality drives me crazy.

I read Facebook posts about various things and I sometimes write responses, especially about things that I have some insight on over my 56 years of being on this earth. But those responses are less likely to be understood by people on the other side of the issue. I know that. But I want to have some input into the world around me. You do it, too. We would like to change the world for the better, help someone understand the other side to the story. Give a little insight to the young thing whose best argument is someone is dead and we have to change. Hmmm....Someone else did something, so I have to change? She has to change? There is no insight, no logic, no history of racial relations...I understand the passion. And I understand that she wants to influence the world for good, but blaming the rest of the world isn't going to get us to a better place. “We” that need to change are the people burning the town down, not me. They are the ones who need to change, but I cannot influence a single soul in Ferguson as much as I would love it.

So back to our verse. God is talking to Job about his lack of control of the world around him. And He uses the analogy of the hot, arid days when the south wind has brought intense heat to the area, and then ceases to blow anymore. The air is stifling. Even the clothes are hot, making the wearer even hotter. The sun shines down with an intensity that is unbearable to stand under. It seems the intensity of the heat is multiplied like bouncing back from a mirror – brighter, hotter, boiling like lava. I picture the heat ripples in the air. Life is unbearable under the intensity and people flee to their tents for shade. And there is not a thing that Job or any other man can do but wait it out. God Himself made a sun so hot, the winds to blow, park, and cease. And He will cause the sun to go down, the winds to blow gently, change directions, or be riled up into a raging storm. And, again, we have nothing to say about the matter. Jesus told His disciples that they could look at the skies and predict the weather that was coming and make their plans accordingly (you don't go fishing in a monsoon), but he never told them that they could cause the winds to blow. He demonstrated through stilling the storm that He was the only one who could control such forces and powers.

And often in our lives we feel the heat is on. The intensity makes us hot and flushed in the cheeks, sweaty, weakens our resolve, and makes our lives miserable. We seek shelter from the rays that seem to be laser-focused through a magnifying glass held by a youngster on a bug on the sidewalk. Life heats up, and even our protective garments can seem to make the situation worse, like wearing black in the desert.

And yet there is a God in heaven who is more powerful than the sun's rays that beat on us. God says the sun will rule the day, but the moon and stars will rule the night. (Psalm 136:8-9) Though the sun beats down, it does not rule us 24/7. But God does. And He can overpower the sun's affect on us if He chooses. The sun will not harm you by day or the moon by night. (Psalm 121:6) He can protect us from the heat of the day, from the situations around us, or He can let us bake in the heat. He can melt us or He can harden us. The intense heat will do one or the other. He can dehydrate us, or send us running to the streams of living water. Though we have nothing at all to say about the conditions, we have a lot to say about how we respond to them. We can choose to accept the heat and make the best of things, roll over and whine, or run to the shade. We can use the heat to soften our hearts or harden them. And we can use our garments to shelter us or shed them in hopes of being cooler. The choice of the response is ours. God is heating things up, whether we like it or not. He has made this November cold whether we like it or not. He is in control and we are not. So we need to get on with thanking Him in all situations, doing what we can in the place He has us, and understanding that nothing lasts forever. When we think race relations are solved, they will rear their ugly heads. When we think work problems and relationships are resolved and flowing smoothly, something will come up. The heat will return, for this is a sinful world. And we need to let God be God, pray for one another, and be part of the comfort of others here on earth. We are all under the sun, all under some heat in our lives. The relief may be permanent or temporary, but we are not the power factor in the world, no matter how much we would love to be in control. Peace in the heart brings peace to our relationships with one another. So get it right with God, so that you can get it right with others. Then and only then will we have peace on earth.