The Missing Metaphor

By Rosemary Flaaten –

Using the word “as” indicates a simile which, according to my fourth grade teacher, is a figure of speech similar to metaphors. In both cases, one thing is explicitly compared to another to suggest a resemblance. While reading a familiar Psalm, I was struck by my propensity to miss this two letter word and in doing so I missed a very important comparison.

The Psalmist David starts Psalm 63 by verbalizing how his soul hungers for God as if he has an unquenchable longing for God. Verse five goes on to say “ My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods” (NIV). It was this verse that stopped me in my tracks and made me realize that not only had I misread this verse but I was living out my mistake.

Loneliness, sadness or discontent are fed with chocolate and Doritos in an attempt to soothe. The tyranny of my emotions is like hungry lions and I try to placate those emotions with succulent food. The problem is that my soul was not created to be satisfied with food. The deep needs of my soul need to be met with the life giving sustenance of my heavenly Father’s love and grace, not sugar and salt. By extracting the word “as” from Psalm 63:5, I had chosen to attempt to satisfy my emotional needs with the richest of foods.

This has made me wonder how many other tangible things I have attempted to use to satisfy the spiritual needs of my soul. Have I attempted to use relationships to feel satisfied? How about shopping? vacations? accomplishments? None of these things are wrong in and of themselves but trying to feed them to my soul to create spiritual and emotional satisfaction is pointless.

By putting back the metaphor into this verse, my emotional needs will be met through a dependency on God which will have the same effect as feeding my physical body the food it needs.

PRAYER: Lord, forgive me for replacing your presence with temporary created things. Help me to keep You in first place, allowing You to fill and satisfy me as only You can.

Psalm 63:1,5 “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods. (Psalm 63:1,5 NIV)

Hidden in our Hands

Rosemary Flaaten –

Take a look at your hands. What do you see? Is your skin soft and supple? Do you have callouses from years of hard work? Are they petite and well groomed? Are they broad and muscular?

These upper extremities are a part of our body often taken for granted. We use our hands to wash dishes, send a text message, stroke our child’s hair and entwine our lover’s hand. With our hands we have the opportunity to communicate love, abuse or control.

Jesus used his hands to bless people and to make them feel welcome in His presence. When He placed his hands on people they were healed of their infirmities. Jesus’ hands were a conduit of his Father’s power and peace.

The Psalmist declared, “Hidden in the hands of Moses and Aaron, You led your people like a flock of sheep”. (Psalm 77:20 TM) God used the hands of Moses and Aaron to infuse His power. These two men simply became the channel through which the Most High God passed on the clarity of His will, His power and His love. God used their hands to bless others.

Are you allowing God to use your hands? Are your hands, whether petite or enormous, silky or rough, being employed as an instrument of God’s love? Do people feel touched by the breath of God in your presence? As people who have a personal relationship with Christ, we have hidden in our hands the presence of God. Think of the responsibility. Think of the potential.

What’s hidden in your hands? Take a look at your hands and renew your commitment to use them for His glory.

PRAYER: Dear Father, infuse my hands so that they may be a conduit of Your love and blessings. Amen.

Quote: “Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.” (Hymn – Take My Life and Let It Be by Frances R. Havergal)

Wash Versus Soak

By Rosemary Flaaten –

I have a favorite cookie recipe that’s loaded with oatmeal and raisins. If made correctly the tasty morsels come out chewy and rich, perfect with a glass of ice cold milk. My usual method involves soaking the raisins in hot water for a couple of hours so that they are plump and juicy. The last time I made them I was in a rush and so just measured out the one cup, quickly washed them and then dumped them into the batter. Surely soaking wasn’t that important to the quality of the final product?

Haste makes waste. The cookies, although they had the same ingredients were not supple and chewy. I discovered the hard way that the extra moisture that came from soaking the raisins was critical to the cookies successful finish.

Jan Johnson in her book Savoring God’s Word describes the difference between typical Bible study and a type of Bible meditation where we soak in the scripture. “When we study, we dissect the text; when we meditate, we savor the text and enter into it. When we study, we ask questions about the text; when we meditate, we let the text ask questions of us. When we study, we read and compare facts and new ways of applying facts; when we meditate we read to let God speak to us in light of the facts already absorbed.”

Do we just wash in Scripture or do we soak? Do we sit with a verse and allow its truths to seep deep into our minds and hearts, creating a supple hunger for more of God. Or do, we feverishly plough through our daily reading plans, simply making our Bible reading an item to be checked off?

Scripture is living and active, and was given to us so that the Holy Spirit would judge the thoughts and attitudes of our heart. It is meant to illuminate our shortcomings and our need for God. Its corrects and challenges. It soothes and breathes. It ushers in peace. It enlivens joy.

Soaking is not done on the run. Soaking requires stillness. Soaking produces change.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to slow down and to soak in Your Word so that its truths may penetrate my heart and produce a life that resembles Yours.

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).

A Thorough Housecleaning

By Rosemary Flaaten –

The mocha cheesecake had served its purpose. Our dinner guests had exclaimed about its silky texture and rich coffee and chocolate flavor. But now the last half sat on the third shelf of my refrigerator. Every time I opened the frig door it seemed to call my name and lure me in for just one more bite. By the end of the weekend, the majority of that cake had made its way from the third shelf onto my muffin top.

During this same weekend I was reading the book of Joshua where the Israelite’s fearsome leader gives his final charge. Joshua knew the Israelite’s propensity to allow their hearts to wander away from the true God and that they were at greatest risk of doing this by allowing the subtle infiltration and acceptance of other gods. His admonition? “Throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” (Joshua 24:23)

I was quick to congratulate myself that I didn’t have any god statues in my house. But, as I licked the remaining crumb of cheesecake from the corner of my mouth, I was reminded that gods are anything we idolize and give our devotion. I had to admit that that cheesecake had a hold on me. That weekend I had given my devotion to a mixture of cream cheese, coffee and sugar and in doing so I had not upheld my commitment to God to eat healthily and disciplined.

So the choice lay before me. My frugal upbringing reasoned that it would be wasteful to throw out anything edible. “Keep it. Someone else in the family might want it”. But as I stood before the refrigerator, I knew I had to act on the Holy Spirit’s prompting from Joshua’s words, “Throw away the foreign gods among you.” Oh, the freedom my spirit felt when the last of that cheesecake made its way down the garbage disposal. It was gone and I was no longer held captive by an idol in my midst.

Do you have any idols that linger, pulling at your desire and causing you to stumble? Be ruthless. Nothing is worth taking the risk of allowing our hearts to be pulled away from our one true God. Do a thorough housecleaning today.

PRAYER: Help me to be strong and courageous to rout the idols from my life.

“But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Joshua 22:5 NIV)

A Spiritual Lifeline

Rosemary Flaaten –

Struggling in the churning water, my tattered lifesaving vest threatened to disintegrate with each wave slamming over me. My eyes, clouded by the sea water, barely distinguished the sailors feverishly trying to get close to me. With full strength they threw the rope and despite my fatigue I caught it and held on. Just as hope started to surge, a wave hit with unbridled fury. The lifeline that had promised to draw me to safety, instantly snapped and I was engulfed by a wall of water. That’s when I awoke.

Such nightmares highlight the feeling of being lost and our need for a secure and trustworthy lifeline. As we go about our daily lives we put our trust in many things. We trust that if we drive defensively, we won’t end up in an accident. If we raise our kids right, we hope they’ll mature into upright citizens. If we stick to our Bible reading plan we’re confident we’ll measure up as a good Christian.

But when a wall of tragedy slams against us, do these lifelines hold or do they snap? Are we relying on our good Christian works to secure us in the storms of life?

The writer of Hebrews gives what he calls “an unbreakable spiritual lifeline” (Hebrews 6:18 TM). He outlines several attributes of God’s character that if held onto will become a lifeline that will never break in the fury of life. What is it that is so completely dependable and completely trustworthy?

God has made us a promise that He will never leave us or forsake us and that His purposes will be fulfilled. God has a plan for each of our lives and it is a future with goodness, hope and prosperity. And how do we know that this promise can be trusted? Because God has given His word. He has made us an oath and it is impossible for God to lie.

Therefore, be encouraged today. Grab hold of the hope God offers. It is an unbreakable spiritual lifeline.

PRAYER: Forgive me for my apathy and doubt and instead help me to grab hold of Your promises and to place my full trust in Your goodness.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

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