We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
2 Corinthians 4:8-10
Our household was recently gifted an air fryer (thanks Mom!) and I have been so excited to discover its uses in preparing food and making my dinner plans a breeze. If you don’t know, an air fryer is like a compact convection oven that circulates REALLY hot air throughout a basket which heats and cooks food very quickly and evenly without the extra oil a traditional fryer would use. As I was going through some recipes I noticed that for some foods—like if you were going to make homemade mozzarella sticks—they recommend you freeze them before cooking so that as the outside is getting nice and crispy, the inside is staying intact and at the right texture/temperature to make that food appealing. That makes sense, I wouldn’t want a pool of cheese at the bottom when I when I was done! (Or would I? I do like cheese…)
I was thinking about how we stay intact as we weather the hot winds of life, or the air fryer that is the pressures and storms of this world. When I go through pressings and hard seasons, do I want to come out a crispy and delicious mozzarella stick who nobody can resist, or do I want to be a pool of dairy goo flattened and useful for little? It’s worthwhile to seek some protection or covering before you go into the fire. Hence, the freezer. If you are frozen solid before you enter the hotness you are saturated in an insulated layer of frigid protection that takes the brunt of the heat, leaving your insides not scorched. You may be a little toasty on the outside, but on the inside you’re still okay.
Now check this out because this is cool. Did you know when you freeze foods, the part that is being frozen is the WATER molecules in the food? It’s the water in the food that develops ice crystals and hardens up so that the food retains its shape and gets solid feeling. Often in the Bible, whenever water is mentioned, it is symbolic of the Holy Spirit who lives and dwells in the lives of believers. He guides, teaches, comforts, and yes, even steels us against the heat of the world. Can you imagine the Holy Spirit in us freezing up and creating a layer of protection, bearing the weight of the pressures this world throws at us? So, what is the catalyst that causes the Holy Spirit to freeze up? I believe it is the interaction of the Word of God—Jesus, the solid rock—that as we saturate our lives with reading, meditating on and praying the scriptures over our lives that it both inundates and reacts with the Holy Spirit inside us so that when we need to be rock solid as well, we have the assistance we need.
I had never thought about the well-spring of life that waters us also having the ability to freeze up and keep us protected in our desert seasons! I pray that as you continue to pour the Word into your life that He would go before you and work on your behalf in the capacity that you need it.