Burning Bushes

That might be what some quarters of the left might be doing at the GOP convention, but it's the one that Moses talked to that got me thinking this weekend.

Our church is in the middle of VBS, and Eileen's teaching the second graders this week; since it's a night-time thing and I teach Monday through Thursday nights, I'm out of the loop other than to help set up her room with the cheesy Polynesian decor for the Outrigger Island (the Southern Baptist's official 2008 VBS) theme.

Anyways, she was working on the Monday lesson from Exodus 3, Moses and the burning bush. Let's review; here's the NIV take-

¹ Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."

OK. Let's take this out of children's story and apply some lay physics (I'm not a physicist, so take my science with a grain of salt). Normally, if something is burning, it is shrinking, as the hydrocarbons of the wood are turning into carbon dioxide and water vapor and energy and some charcoal. If the old Einstein equation is to hold, additional energy will require converting some mass. However, the mass wasn't getting converted; the bush wasn't shriveling up like it should in a wildfire.

The reason it wasn't burning was that God was supplying His own energy. Our normal laws of thermodynamics assume a closed system; God has the option of opening up the system and adding or subtracting energy, since He is outside the system.

That applies in our lives as well. God does supply energy even today. Recall Isaiah; "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." God can get us through the tough times with a supernatural push of energy, a second wind. Billy Joel may not the best example to be pulling Edifiers from, but Second Wind's bridge comes to mind as valid advice.

But I survived all those long lonely days
When it seemed I did not have a friend
Cause all I needed was a little faith
So I could catch my breath and face the world again

Don't forget your second wind

A little faith in God and a little pray can give you the energy you need to tackle the things God has for you to do. You might not have the energy, but God does.