Rocket Love

Proverbs 26:1 (TPT)“It is totally out of place to promote and honor a fool, just like it’s out of place to have snow in the summer and rain at harvest time.”Today's Episode: Rocket LoveIt's the end of July.Which means if you live in Texas, you're asking one very serious question:What's hotter than July?Easy.August.We haven't even gotten there yet.But whenever I hear the phrase Hotter Than July, I don't think about the weather.I think about Stevie Wonder's classic 1980 album.One of my favorite songs on it is “Rocket Love.”I'll give you just a taste of Stevie's brilliant lyrics.in the Chorus he laments:You took me riding in your rocket, gave me a starBut at a half a mile from heaven you dropped me backDown to this cold, cold world...Stevie! Tell us the truth about how romance goes sometimes!I've always thought the best blues songs pull off a strange miracle.They sound so good...while they're making you feel something that hurts so bad.The groove makes you smile.The story breaks your heart.That's the blues.Stevie sings about a love that launched him into the heavens...only to leave him standing in a cold, cold world.That's irony.And Proverbs 26:1 gives us another picture of irony:“It is totally out of place to promote and honor a fool, just like it’s out of place to have snow in the summer and rain at harvest time.”I love that phrase:Totally out of place.Wisdom notices what doesn't belong.Snow...in summer.Rain...at harvest.Honor...without character.Sometimes life gives us a kind of Rocket Love.We get launched into places our character hasn't learned to live yet.The promotion comes before the preparation.The spotlight arrives before the substance.The altitude comes faster than the attitude can sustain...before the soul has learned how to breathe up there.God isn't trying to keep us from high places.He's preparing us to live there.Because honor isn't dangerous.Honor without formation is.So don't just pray for greater opportunities.Pray for deeper wisdom.Then when life lifts you higher...you'll have the character to stay there.REMEMBERDon't chase an altitude your character hasn't learned to breathe in yet.PRAYERLord, grow my character before You grow my influence and opportunities.TODAY'S CHALLENGEThink of one person already living at the altitude you're praying for. Reach out today and ask them one honest question about what it takes to stay there. Then listen. Get full access to Hey Fred Lynch! at heyfredlynch.substack.com/subscribe