I am not sure if anyone remembers the song “The Heat is On” sung by Glenn Frey in 1984.
The heat is on, on the street
Inside your head, on every beat
And the beat’s so loud, deep inside
The pressure’s high, just to stay alive
‘Cause the heat is on
The shadows high on the darker side
Behind those doors, it’s a wilder ride
You can make a break, you can win or lose
That’s a chance you take, when the heat’s on you
When the heat is on
Oh-wo-ho, oh-wo-ho
Caught up in the action I’ve been looking out for you
Oh-wo-ho, oh-wo-ho
(Tell me can you feel it)
(Tell me can you feel it)
(Tell me can you feel it)
The heat is on, the heat is on, the heat is on
Oh it’s on the street, the heat is on
It’s on the street
The heat is on, the heat is on, the heat is on
Yeah it’s on the street
The heat is on
I have been thinking of this song lately for a couple reasons.
One, it’s hot in Texas! Two, the air conditioning quit in my car. Three, the power window won’t go down. And, did I mention it is HOT in Texas?!
As I thought of this song, I realized it was written and performed for a movie, “Beverly Hills Cop”, but the words began to take on more meaning for me. Since I have been back in the US traveling to speak, taking time out to catch up on some of the administrative duties here and preparing to expand in new areas with AHI, the folks left in charge of various parts of the work in Israel have been doing a superb job. All of this great activity has made somebody in the netherworld a bit unhappy with our progress.
You see, working to bring the Holocaust Survivors new Hope is the same as bringing them “Life!” In the Christian context life = resurrection. In the Jewish culture, the number for “L’Chaim” is 18 and donations or gifts are frequently given in increments of $18 as a symbol of life to the recipient.
The devil can neither originate life nor can he give it back when it is taken. Therefore he hates anything having to do with something only HaShem can do. Though satan had in mind to murder all the Jews in WWII, those who survived were so traumatized, he counted them as dead. But when we bring them hope, life is renewed and they begin again. This makes satan kind of mad.
Those of us who are involved in AHI sometimes end up in the line of fire- and become collateral damage in the actions of the enemy. So, my air conditioning quits, I have some trouble learning what I need to know for the web site, small things seem larger than life- it is all because we are part of God’s Plan to help the Survivors.
So, I began to look at these lyrics as the heat being from the enemy. This applies to the everyday life- and to what is going on in Israel right now.
The heat is on, on the street
Inside your head, on every beat
And the beat’s so loud, deep inside
The pressure’s high, just to stay alive
‘Cause the heat is on
Don’t you feel that way some days? When you go out the door in the morning, sometimes it seems the world is a scary place. It seems like the heat is on you; words of failure or trouble beat inside your head. They seem so loud you don’t hear anything else.
The shadows high on the darker side
Behind those doors, it’s a wilder ride
You can make a break, you can win or lose
That’s a chance you take, when the heat’s on you
But the chorus- ah, yes, the chorus… Look at the bold line below. This is God’s line. He is looking out for us. Yes, the heat is on us in the street, in everyday life. But different from the lyrics, we don’t have to take a chance. We have a promise of rescue from HaShem.
The heat is on Israel as they go through this gut wrenching time, with their neighbors turning up the heat and the enemy, both physical and spiritual, trying desperately to turn the world against them. But God is looking out for them. And if you look again at the lyrics, what is the question?
Oh-wo-ho, oh-wo-ho
Caught up in the action I’ve been looking out for you
Oh-wo-ho, oh-wo-ho
(Tell me can you feel it)
(Tell me can you feel it)
(Tell me can you feel it)
The heat is on, the heat is on, the heat is on
Oh it’s on the street, the heat is on
“Tell me can you feel it” So, can you? Do you have peace in the midst of the storm? Do you feel ‘cool’ in the midst of the heat? Yaweh is the only, the ONLY, One who can give us this peace no matter what is stirring around us.
Call on Him for your protection. Read Psalm 91 and believe it is for you. I know it is for me. I am going forward, going out on the street, out into the heat, because I know my Lord is looking out for me. And I can truly say, “Yes, I can feel it!”
Standing strong in the heat of the daily battle,
Susan
