As I read these verses this morning, the first verse in particular reminded me of shrink wrap. Have you ever watched something being shrink wrapped? It's pretty neat. When heat is applied to the plastic, it literally shrinks away from the heat source, and wraps itself around the item it is covering.

How many times has the heat been turned up in our lives and we literally shrink away from it and wrap ourselves around something tangible instead of having faith in our God, who is intangible? I know I'm guilty of it. Instead, God wants us to wrap ourselves around Him, knowing that as we trust Him to deliver us, He will be pleased by our faith. He doesn't want us to be plastic people.

The second verse made me think of the scene in the movie "The Wizard of Oz" in which the Wicked Witch of the West is accidentally splashed with a bucket of water while Dorothy and the Tin Man are trying to put out a fire on Scarecrow in the Wicked Witch's lair. As the Wicked Witch shrinks away into nothing more than a pointed hat and a pool of water, she cries, "I'm melting! Oh, I'm melting! Oh, what a world! What a world!"

On the other hand, if we do shrink back, it really shows what we're made of doesn't it? Maybe we're not as tough, spiritually speaking, as we think we are. When God is trying to wash us with the pure water of His Word and His Spirit, do we shrink away from Him? Or do we instead allow Him to complete the good and perfect work He desires to accomplish in us; the process of cleansing and delivering us from evil?

It's time to stand firm in faith; to not shrink away from the heat of trials and sufferings, but to instead be immovable through the strength that Christ provides. It's time to wrap ourselves up in the intangible things of God's heavenly kingdom instead of the deceivingly tangible comforts and pleasures of this world.