Our relationships, our hearts are lost in translation

As I’ve prayed through circumstances and relationships, when I get myself still enough to listen, often times God will reveal, “Things are not as they seem.” He is alerting me that my thoughts or feelings need to be re-framed within a circumstance or situation.

“Poetry is what gets lost in translation”; so said Robert Frost, meaning that it is fairly impossible for readers to draw out the fullness of the writer’s intent and intimate emotional nuances. When it comes to reading poetry, this is probably true; but isn’t this also poetry’s gift?

Hidden within a poem’s rhythms and word pictures, a heart connects and finds language to express its deepest emotions and thoughts through the filter of one’s experiences. This could apply to song lyrics as well, as they are often painted with broad strokes of a brush by the song writer so the listener can find his/her story in the words too. Poetry and songs that we will be drawn towards are intimate stories we end. They help us put words to our feeling and thoughts and creatively express our life experiences. This is how poetry and song become sentimental gifts we treasure. They trigger emotion and bring to mind life altering experiences, whether good or bad.

“Because you loved me” by Celine Dion is my love song to the LORD. She did not write it to be a worship song, but every time I hear it tears well up because the lyrics “trigger” memories of God’s faithfulness. Every line within that song floods my mind with a very difficult time when, had it not been for the LORD’s love and faithfulness, I would not be who I am today, set free and healed. Instead of “I’ll be forever thankful baby”, I sing, “I’ll be forever thankful Jesus”.

Our hearts were made by God to find personal translation and expression. He knows our hearts are lost and looking for a safe place for healing and life. He specifically made our hearts and minds and lips and bodies to sing. Poetry and song are special gifts God has given to help us connect and express ourselves from deep within. Worship songs offer a lovely and powerful prayer language more easily memorized, merely needing the tune to set our soul into motion to talk to and glorify our beautiful King. This is one of the reasons why scripture says,

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”- Ephesians 5:18-20.

The Book of Psalms is one large resource God gave us as gift meant to help us express our hearts to him. They are prayer songs; but rarely sung. I have to remind myself they are songs because I am very used to reading them, not singing them. But in original expression and culture, they were sung. We’ve mostly lost this expression from the original authors. I suppose this is a perfect example of how something very precious has indeed been lost in translation.

Singing the psalms is a creative portal that leads to memorizing and embedding the words deep within. Music stays with us, even when a mind is all but gone. This is proving true in Alzheimer’s research. When the disease is in advanced stages, people who remember little else will remember songs. This should tell us all something about the gift of music as expression of our hearts and as a vehicle of prayer to God.

Next Wednesday night at 7pm we will mostly use familiar worship songs as prayer language to God. Also you will hear a couple of psalms being sung and meditate on them for meaning in your circumstances. These sessions are meant to be a format you can duplicate and incorporate in your personal prayer closets. We will practice agreeing in prayer and proclaiming promises, and stand in the gap for loved ones.

Also, next Wednesday we will offer some time to wait on the Wonderful Counselor to give us insight within the relationships and circumstances in which He has you invested. This is important because we are struggling to understand and maneuver within relationships and personal decision. Here again we could say, “Apparently something has been lost in translation”. Confusion and conflict abounds in our relationships with our spouses, our children, our families, work situations, our friendships, our service assignments, etc. Too often we are rehearsing and retelling our situations to others instead of processing with God. “He said this, she said that. I can’t handle this, I will no longer put up with that…”. We stay within a stronghold of words and hurt feelings. These are really spiritual battles needing God’s help and revelation. We need the Spirit of God to counsel and translate.

This is a discipline that must be exercised and developed in our relationship with God. Our feelings and our thoughts often betray His will. We cannot be trusted to translate. We need God to intervene and renew our minds. He can be trusted to help us. He tells us to ask for wisdom and expect an answer, James 1:5-8.

Here are a few examples of God giving wisdom:

1. God calls you to take a risk with your spouse and reach out in a vulnerable way. Instead of being received, it is met with a wall of resistance or attack. A normal response would be that you walk away with hurt feelings and think, “Until they are nicer, I’m done being vulnerable.”
   1. How might God reframe this situation? His wisdom to you might be along the lines of, “Do not take it personally. He/she is struggling with self-loathing and it is getting projected on to you.” Or maybe something along the lines of “He/she is wrestling with fear of being rejected, so they are rejecting you first.”
2. You keep giving in to keep peace but end up being taken for granted. A normal response might be that you continue to love selflessly hoping the other person will change..
   1. Instead God might want you to see that your hope and joy is found only from Him, not from any other person. God may want you to voice your hurt to the person you keep giving in to, speaking the truth in love and risk rejection. If you are not rooted in God’s acceptance and love for you, this will be a challenge. Healing will be found in surrendering to God’s way.
3. You are depressed and grieving. Your hurt may be so deep within your thoughts, you believe there is no hope for healing.
   1. Yet God’s way is that you believe He can heal you. His way is that you trust Him and confess your burden to someone who will pray with you and agree for healing. He might also be asking you to stop isolating, join a Bible study and serve Him instead of staying consumed in your own troubles.
4. You have a loved one who repeatedly engages in self-destructive behavior that keeps their life in chaos. You are repeatedly stepping in to rescue them from themselves, yet nothing changes and you are taken down with them in emotional, mental, and physical burnout.
   1. God might instruct something along the lines of, “Release them to me. Walk away from the chaos. Trust Me to intervene. Get out of the way so I can move. Rest and trust and spend more time with Me.” Or maybe He will lead you to warn a loved one (i.e. speak the truth in love) even though they will reject it and attack you. In obeying, you taste and experience some of what Christ suffered for you. He will strengthen you and defend you as a result.

These are just some examples of how our thoughts and behaviors can be directly contrary to God’s way. There is scriptural support behind all of these possible responses from God. God WILL NEVER GIVE YOU WISDOM THAT IS CONTRARY TO HIS WORD. His Word has to be hidden in your heart to accurately hear and discern what God is saying. He is “Wonderful Counselor”, Isaiah 9:6.

God would urge you to develop a discipline of time in His presence and His Word for healing and counsel. Often this is a trying discipline to develop on your own. This is why Into the Waters has been formed.

What is written in this blog is what the next 4 Wednesday sessions are about. We will process what might be lost in translation in our relationships and circumstances, sing His Word and truths to Him, and open ourselves up to receive prayer. See the calendar page HERE.

Due to the freer- flow format of these Intercession nights, I will be able to “float” around better to pray with people during the set of songs and musical interludes. (Often the meditations end with one or more attendants leaving without getting prayer because they weren’t able to wait. I want everyone who wants prayer to receive it!)

Come and get prayer. Come and tune to what God might say regarding your relational situations or life circumstances. Come and express your heart to him in song, singing His Word, for recall and spiritual transformation.

Hope to see you! Blessings!