The other day as I went to open a drawer I felt a sharp prick on my finger. “OUCH!!! Oh no… a splinter!!!” I hadn’t gotten a splinter in years. For the rest of the evening I worked on trying to get the splinter out. At first, it looked like success. I was able to grab a piece of the small fragment of wood and I felt some relief. It appeared that my finger was just a little sore because of a small piece of open flesh. But by the end of the following day, I discovered that it wasn’t just skin, but wood still buried deep within my finger!
At that point I got busy prodding and taking a clean needle to create an opening where the rest of the splinter could be exposed. Once enough of it was visible, I took some tweezers and pulled it out. Low and behold, the splinter was not just a tiny piece of thin wood, but about a half inch long!
As I reflected upon this uncomfortable experience, it occurred to me that similar things happen in life. Various issues can prick the heart. We may think that we’ve dealt with it…addressed it…removed it…washed it away, but in reality, we’ve only “clipped off” a small portion of the problem. There is just enough of the problem left embedded in our heart to keep us distracted, sore, throbbing and moving slowing towards spiritual infection. “Spiritual splinters” require digging deeper. Sometimes we may be required to open “sore places” in our hearts in order to fully pull out what is truly hurting us.
The writer of Proverbs urges us to “keep” or “guard our hearts,” for out of the heart flows the issues of life. Just as a literal splinter left in skin can become swollen and infected, fragments of hurt, anger, frustration, feelings of betrayal etc., can fester…distracting us and ultimately poisoning our life perspective and outlook.
Are you ignoring a spiritual splinter today? Through intentional prayer, soul prodding and seeking wise counsel, work until you get it out. True healing will not happen until you do.
Post a comment or send me an email at Shepastor1@hotmail.com
Until next Wednesday,
In Faith, Hope and Perseverance,
Pastor Chris
www.shepastorchris.org
Good analogy Shepastor!
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