In the 1990’s, an author named Richard Preston wrote a book entitled Hot Zone. It was a based-on-true-life story that focused on viruses like Ebola. The book was one of the first popular-level novels to cover the impact of Ebola. It was subtitled: “The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus.”
The book was called Hot Zone because that term is often used in the medical world. It describes an area where there are biological dangers.
And unfortunately, we’ve seen a massive reoccurrence of that “hot zone” in the past few weeks. In the latest outbreak, there have been over 13,000 cases of Ebola and almost 5,000 deaths in places like Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.[1] The 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history.[2] It’s a hot zone that terrifies those of us who see it from a distance. And it is a hot zone that is tormenting those caught up in it.
But there are other hot zones. This term—hot zone—also has a home in the military. A landing zone or a rendezvous point might be called “hot” if it is under enemy fire. This military usage reminds us of another hot zone today—one connected to the fundamentalist sect called ISIS. ISIS is known for killing dozens of people at a time. It has taken over large swaths of northern and western Iraq. More than a million Iraqis have been forced from their homes by ISIS. Today the U.S. military is engaged against ISIS.[3] And we could call that a “hot zone.” It’s a hot zone that terrifies those of us who see it from a distance. And it’s a hot zone that is tormenting those caught up in it.
And these are just two of the hot zones prominent today. We could use the term “hot zone” for any number of stressful things happening in the world. Hot zones like this terrify us and torment us. Even when we observe them from a distance, they have an impact on us. Internally, they terrify us. And externally, they torment those within them. They can cause real suffering and real pain.
There are all kinds of hot zones today. Poverty is a kind of hot zone. For example, we received desperate news a few weeks ago from the principal of the school downtown which we have adopted—LaRose Elementary school. That school’s scores are so low that the state has to take it over. And this is caused in part by poverty in the lives of students. Poverty threatens to derail these kids before they even get out of elementary school. It creates a kind of hot zone that terrifies and torments these kids.
Each week many of you at Highland turn in prayer requests. Each week as the church staff and elders gather for prayer, we agonize over those requests and the hot zones they represent. So many are hurting from diseases like cancer, financial difficulties or challenges in their families. Life is full of hot zones—things that frighten us and have the power to torment us.
When the Bible speaks about seasons of suffering or times of terror, it often uses the image of heat. One of those places comes in the book called Jeremiah. We will be spending the Spring in the book of Jeremiah. It is a very powerful book with a great deal of life-shaping content. And today I want to use one small text from Jeremiah to help us better understand how we might flourish even when we encounter hot zones.
Here’s what Jeremiah writes about living with the heat:
5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jer. 17:5-8 ESV)
Jeremiah mentions the heat, and the year of drought. He pictures a landscape scorched by intense heat. This is not a hot day or a tough week. This, Jeremiah says, is a year of drought. This is a long season of heat. A prolonged season of stress and suffering.
And this hot zone terrifies. Jeremiah writes about fear and anxiety. He mentions those words because that’s what this hot zone can do. It can lead to great fear and anxiety.
This hot zone also torments. Jeremiah mentions that some in this heat might become like a desert shrub in a parched land, in a salt land, indicating that they are scorched. That’s what hot zones do. They terrify us. And they torment us. They leave us feeling like a brittle desert shrub.
But notice what is present in the midst of this heat. Jeremiah mentions a tree. We are the tree. But there’s something else present. There is water. Jeremiah calls it a stream. That water represents God. Jeremiah describes God as relentless and refreshing water in this hot zone.
God is refreshing. God enables this tree to have green leaves during a brown time. The water of God is able to refresh this tree so that it does not suffer from the heat.
In addition, God is relentless water. Jeremiah does not come out and say this explicitly, but he does imply this point. The water remains untouched by the heat. That is, in spite of this intense heat, the water of God continues to flow. The stream does not turn into a trickle.
And that is a critical point for us to remember in any hot zone. No matter how terrifying or tormenting a hot zone is it cannot impact the most important part of life. A hot zone may affect your health, may impact your family, or may tear at our nation’s fabric. And yet no heat can touch the water of God.
This means that in any hot zone there will always be something unchanging that you can count on. That unchanging thing is God, the water of God. This Ebola crisis cannot change that. This ISIS crisis cannot change that. The outcome of elections cannot change that. In every hot zone God is refreshing and relentless water.
That means that no matter the hot zone you find yourself in it is possible to experience life. It is possible to experience joy. It is possible to experience peace.
This explains why Dr. Kent Brantley, an alumna of Abilene Christian University, demonstrated such peace and calm even after he was infected with the Ebola virus. He was a living illustration of this parable. He was a tree. The Ebola virus was that scorching heat. But God was an refreshing and relentless water. And that water enabled Dr. Brantley to experience peace and calm.
Notice further, the description of the tree. This tree sends out its roots so that they reach the water. Jeremiah is saying that we can root in God even in hot zones. We can choose to root ourselves in God even in the worst of hot zones. The tree actively and intentionally sends out its roots so that it might connect with water. In the same way Jeremiah is reminding us that we must choose to root in God. We must take intentional steps to have connection with the water in hot zones.
This means that we are not helpless victims when we are in hot zones. One of the things that most terrifies us about the heated moments of life is the feeling that we can’t do anything about it. We’re just victims. Victims of terrorists. Victims of poverty. Victims of overbearing parents or children. Victims of a disease. But Jeremiah is showing us that there is something that we can do. We can intentionally root in God.
One of the first hot zones I encountered as a teenager had to do with the death of a close friend. Marlon McWilliams was the part-time preacher for the small church in Cloudcroft. One rainy afternoon, his youngest son Doug was in a car with another friend of mine named Kresten. Kresten and Doug were driving down Cox Canyon, a windy and narrow road that snaked its way through the Sacramento Mountains. In the rain, they failed to navigate one of the sharpest turns and their car slammed into a tree. Doug died. He was only about fourteen years old. And it was one of the first times that I saw the difference between those who choose to root in God in a hot zones and those who do not.
On the one hand I had many friends in high school who were not followers of Jesus. And this unexpected death of our peer shook them. They didn’t know how to respond or how to process the death. They were a mess. On the other hand I had a few friends who took steps to root themselves in God. One of the most surprising was Doug’s father Marlon. He too was shaken. But through those hot days he also demonstrated a remarkable calm. It came from the fact that he had chosen to send out his roots into the water.
How do we do this? How do we root in God when we come upon a hot zone? One answer is found in what we call the 7 Practices. We believe there are seven basic practices that help you root in God. Let me review those:
- Worship God in one of Highland’s Sunday morning services weekly.
- Grow with others in one of Highland’s adult SS classes/Huddles weekly.
- Grow closer to God through personal spiritual disciplines one hour/week.
- Serve in a ministry one hour/week.
- Share Jesus in one of Highland’s Reach Groups monthly.
- Give at least 10% to one of Highland’s collections weekly.
- Share Jesus with others one hour/week.
These are basic practices which enable you to root in God.
There are however additional steps to be taken when a hot zone is encountered. I will use three “P” words to illustrate:
First, priority. The word priority reminds us that when a hot zone comes, we must give greater priority to our spiritual disciplines. As I have witnessed followers of Jesus encounter hot zones, they tend to react in one of two ways. First some decrease and even reject their spiritual practices. They turn away from prayer and Bible study. As a result, they burn out. On the other hand, some Christians deepen their spiritual habits in hot zones. These are the ones who experience coolness in the midst of the heat.
Second, people. There is an even greater need for people, or community, when in you encounter a hot zone. Surrounding yourself with a small group of supportive and encouraging people is essential. Because often these other individuals will keep you pointed toward God. My predecessor Harold Shank was a master at this. Many times when he learned of a member at Highland who had just entered a hot zone, he would call two or three other Highlanders and persuade them to commit to walking with that scorched individual through the hot zone. This practice made a tremendous difference in the lives of those people.
Third, perseverance. I have often said to Highlanders who have come to me when they are in a hot zone that the most important spiritual practice is the practice of perseverance. One of the ways you send out your roots to the water when you are being scorched is that you simply persevere. You endure. You hang on. You don’t give up. You don’t give in. Perseverance is an essential quality needed in the hot zone.
These three – priority, people and perseverance – can help you root in God when encountering hot zones.
But there is one final thing Jeremiah shows us. He shows us that rooting in God enables us to bear fruit even in hot zones. Notice what happens to the tree in our parable.
- First, a hot zone is encountered.
- Second, the tree sends its roots into the refreshing and relentless water of God.
- Third, the tree actually bears fruit because of that water.
The tree doesn’t simply draw enough life from the water so that it survives. It is able to find so much strength from the water that it actually bears fruit. And who is the fruit for? The fruit is not for the tree. The tree does not need that fruit. The fruit is for all of those around the tree. The fruit is for the others who are being terrified and tormented in the heat.
Jeremiah is showing us that if we root deeply enough in God we will be able to provide resources and aid to others in the heat. Not only will we thrive. We will be able to help others thrive.
Molly Caldwell Crosby lives in Memphis and is the author of the book The American Plague. She tells the story of the yellow fever epidemic in Memphis in the late 1800’s. Memphis had never seen a hot zone as horrible as this one. The epidemic would take more lives than the Chicago fire, San Francisco earthquake and Johnstown flood combined. Elmwood Cemetery near downtown Memphis is the resting place for thousands who perished from the plague. One mass grave contains 1,400 who perished. The gravediggers were burying over 50 people a day in Memphis. More than half of the city’s population fled hoping to save their own lives. Most who stayed behind were poor. More than 5,000 died.
But some chose to stay behind to provide care and assistance to those suffering. One of those who stayed behind was Sister Constance at St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral. She went house to house to care for the sick. She took care of abandoned children and ailing patients. After just a few week weeks Constance came down with a fever herself. She was sick for several days. And then she died. She gave her life to minister to those in the heat.
Her final words were recorded. Here they are: “Hallelujah! Hosanna!” In one of the worst hot zones our country has ever seen, this woman was able to die with these words of praise on her lips. The words were so remarkable that you can find them inscribed on the altar at St. Mary’s.
Constance is an example of what can happen when you root deeply enough in God. You not only find strength to endure. But you also find the ability and the courage to bear fruit for others.
Here’s what I encourage you to do this week: Find one way to root in God and bear fruit in a hot zone.
