It’s hoooootttt!!! This time of year is called the “dog days of summer” because for 20 days on either side of July 23, typically the hottest days of the year, the constellation Canis Major rises and sets with the sun. Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation is called “The Dog Star”.

Ice cream, watermelon, and swimming pools are made for such a time as this. Sure, there are people right now who are not lamenting their dead grass, battling to keep their gardens alive, walking their pets before the crack of dawn to keep them from frying their paws (and you from suffering heat’s effects) but here – we definitely are. There are also places even hotter than where I am, and I am thankful I am not there. I have heard it said that now is a good time to put up billboards that say, “If you don’t like the heat here, REPENT, and turn to Jesus, before it gets worse for you!” I’m not sure that is the power of a loving testimony at its finest, but it has its points.

It is this time of year when it is difficult for me to get motivated. The days are long, which I love. But the heat saps the energy out of me. Even indoors, I seem to drag a bit. Sweat happens – and it takes nothing for it to happen. I am profoundly grateful for air conditioning and ice.

I admire people out working in the heat. They are dedicated to their job and loyal to their employers in order to feed themselves and/or their families. They stick it out when it isn’t easy. They persevere knowing the fruit of their labor is worth the battle. Galatians 6:9 says, Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

When I think of blazing heat, I can’t help but think of the Bible characters, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three Israelites had been taken captive by Babylon. This was the first of more bad days to come for them. Later, when faced with either bowing to Babylon’s god or being thrown in a fiery furnace, by default, they picked the flames. No one would choose this, but out of loyalty to the Lord God Almighty, they refused to bow to a golden idol, knowing the furnace would be their consequence. The young men uttered the famous line, “Our God whom we serve IS ABLE to deliver us from this furnace, but EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image.” (Daniel 3:18 emphasis mine) The fire they were thrown into was so hot it killed those who threw them in. And guess what? God DID deliver them! But they didn’t know He was going to until after the heave-ho and being in the midst of that fire. In the center of that furnace, JESUS physically showed up to hype them up! Yep, in the hottest, most miserable day of these guys’ lives, Jesus appeared to them and delivered them from what took out some of their enemies and was meant to do the same to them. The king, and thus the whole pagan nation, was drawn to the One true God because these guys stood firm in their faith. (See Daniel Chapters 1 and 3)

There are lots of places we could deem our fiery furnace: tragedy striking us or our families, wayward kids ripping our hearts out, people pressuring us or leading us to do things that God says aren’t in our best interest, being trapped in the results of personal bad decisions. Perhaps we’re trudging through a long, long, dry, hot spell that feels like we’re walking through a desert barefoot with no relief.

Remember that Jesus is the One who is ABLE to deliver us. He is the living water that douses the fire and fills and satisfies our souls. So, we should keep our eyes on Him. If He chooses not to deliver us out from the fire, He will stand with us in the fire and see to it that we get through it. And others will see and be drawn to Him in the process.