Parables in Our Daily Lives
GOD SPEAKS THROUGH PARABLES IN OUR DAILY LIVES
Listen to what you are doing during moments of the day – it might be a parable of what He wants to say to you.
We are surrounded by the allegorical parables of hidden symbols in everyday life. Allegories are discovered through various symbolic circumstances in our daily life, which join together to tell a story. It is like putting words together to make sentences. God delights in speaking to us in allegories. He receives such joy when we become enlightened to this manner of His reaching out to us. Our daily lives are like symbols: they contain hidden stories, if we listen. We can listen to our hands, feet and eyes recognizing the allegories in which we are involved at that moment.
The idea of listening to allegories, no matter what form they come in, is the decision to stop – and reflect upon them. Sometimes the allegories can come in a negative form which is His merciful way of getting our attention. They are kind warnings from a loving Father. The negative allegories are a means for us to understand and judge our own wrong doing.
“But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.” 1 Corinthians 11:31,32 NASB
TIPS ON HOW TO HEAR GOD THROUGH PARABLES
All of these tips will expand your understanding of the spiritual parable.
- Match the quickened buzz word of a concept with a connecting spiritual word or concept in the Bible.
- After you have found the scripture, look up scriptural cross references that connect with that theme.
- Allow the Holy Spirit to bring into remembrance the stories, experiences, rhema or Words that relate to the same theme.
- Draw conclusions or applications to the spiritual parable. Discovering parables are not valuable unless they have application to your personal life or other’s lives.
QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU DEFINE YOUR ACTIONS
Many times when we define something, and then apply the definition spiritually, we arrive at an “OH!” Here are a few questions that might help you find allegories in your daily life.
- What are you doing?
- What is the literal purpose of what you are doing?
- What is the literal function of what you are doing?
- What is the literal definition of what you are doing?
- Now compare the literal answers and match them with the same answers only using spiritual language.
You discover the spiritual language by finding the use of the same words, the same subjects, concepts or themes within scripture.
For instance, He speaks through our job assignments. An example could be someone who pumps gas for a living. Gas is the power that makes our mode of transportation move. This person also spends much time quietly praying for people. So the parable of his spiritual assignment within the body of Christ would be to pump power into people’s lives. Listen to what you are doing during moments of the day. Our actions speak louder than our words most of the time and the Lord uses them to speak to us!
THREE EXAMPLES OF PARABLES
TODAY’S BLOOPER: THE WRINGER
Last night when I put my nightgown on, I noticed that the pockets were sticking out so I tucked them in. This morning I was up before dawn working on importing the new Glossary. I spent a few hours working then took one last look at it before putting it on line. I had made the same mistake in every page! I was not a happy camper and kept telling myself I was NOT going to do them all over again. Sigh, I was not doing a very good job at talking myself into that, so I did them over.
I can not even count how many times I have asked the Lord to help me do things, and suddenly His Spirit will pop up and bring something into memory that I forgot, or help me see a problem and also the work-around answer. It is awesome to realize His help in this way. So I was wondering how I could have done such a stupid mistake. As I was thinking that, He brought into memory that I had forgotten to pray. I did not ask for the Lord’s help! I tromped into the other room and looked at my nightgown in the mirror and chuckled. It was inside out!
I immediately thought about the parable of our lives being washed, going through the wringer and coming out inside out! It would be a while before I took my shower, so I took off the nightgown and put it on right side out and then looked again. Now it was backwards. Ever had one of those days?
My whole day was spent going in software circles with the hopes that there was an easy answer to my need. I was quite crabby by the end of the day and poooooooooor Wayne kept praying for me. Finally in a spotlight prayer I said, “LORD! You told me to consolidate my life and make it simpler. I have honored you and am continuing to work through these things with my computer so I can manage it easier. But this latest project is not simple, it is complicated!” He reassured me that it was simple. I just could hardly believe that, but I have had miracles before in computer land, so I said, “OK!”
Guess what happened? I was up around 3 AM the next morning and decided to update one small file in the glossary. I accidently clicked on something and suddenly the program took off and did what I had intended, but without the 10 steps I had done yesterday. In one simple click I updated a file. I was astonished. I clicked it again on the next file and it did the same thing! ANOINTED CLICKER FINGERS!!!! He did exactly what He has promised. In one simple blooper, what was complex was now simple.
So whenever you have one of those wringer days, don’t forget to PRAY. And then ask Him to bring good out of all your bloopers, and you will be rewarded!
Ps 103:19 AMP
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.
Rom 8:28 NKJV
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
GLOWING EARS: A PARABLE OF LIGHT SHINING IN THE DARKNESS
Tonight we took our son and his friends out of town to go cosmic bowling. The bowling ally was dark with neon lights and also glistening strobe lights. They had blaring loud disco music. This time I came prepared and popped in my handy- dandy fluorescent orange ear plugs!
They glowed in the dark and everyone thought that a riot. I caught some kids staring at my ears and looking away when I caught them staring! The ear plugs were brilliant under the fluorescent lights. I thought the parable funny that my ears were glowing!
Isa 60:2-4 KJV
For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
THE PARABLE OF MY TURKEY WRAP!!
My son taught me how to make chicken wrap sandwiches in a way that keeps the tortilla chewy, soft and moist without getting slimy wet or breaking apart. It is to spread a thin layer of cream cheese on the tortilla and then wrapping the whole tortilla sandwich in saran wrap and leaving it over night in the fridge for the moisture to soften and change the texture of the tortilla. I was impressed with his and so I thought I would give it a try.
I had sliced turkey, Alpine lace cheese, and Wayne’s leftover mixed salad without dressing, so I thought that might be a good base for the sandwich with the cream cheese. I found some Dijon mustard and was thinking about adding some bread and butter pickles for a touch of sweet.
After I added the Dijon mustard, I was thinking about the sweet idea of the pickles and then changed streams in mid sentence, only I forgot to tell my brain that. Yesterday Wayne and I went out to lunch and he had a turkey meal with a touch of cranberry. I thought it might be interesting to try one bite of cranberry on my German potato pancake, since they served it with applesauce and sour cream. Germans seem to like sweet with sour and I liked that idea.
So while making this turkey wrap I suddenly thought about how good turkey is with a hint of cranberries, and I had raspberry cream cheese that might make a good substitute. So I put some raspberry cream cheese around the blanks spots of the tortilla, and totally forgot I had put the Dijon mustard on top of the meat, still hiding under the lettuce!!!!!!!
I took a couple bites and Yeeeeeeeeeowe, what a surprise. This had to be the weirdest, most terrible sandwich I ever had in my life! I could not imagine what was wrong with it when suddenly I remembered the mustard. You have got to be kidding me, I am eating Dijon mustard and raspberry cream cheese together! It was really bad.
I am not about to throw the whole thing down the drain because I didnt was to waste the turkey. So I am laughing with each bite, and making squinty faces in between. Wayne is sitting next to me eating turkey and alpine lace cheese on a plain cinnamon raisin bagel. He made his based on the same idea of cranberries and turkey and said it tasted pretty good.
Sometimes the Lord throws us some strange curves in life just to break our mindsets about our opinions and how we think. Yesterday and all the days before, I would have never tried Wayne’s turkey and swiss cheese on a cinnamon raisin bagel. Today it sounds like a cool idea, after my over-the-wall Dijon mustard and raspberry cream cheese!
I have found that sometimes the Lord allows things in my life that I find distasteful to my mindset. They may be tough to chew and not pleasant texture to my thinking. He might set it apart for a while and then come back to it later. Then when the same is offered to a lesser degree, I am more open to it, having been stretched before.
Like for instance I may go through a season of not hearing Him very much, and then when He speaks again I am much more open to hearing what He says, because I have changed my opinions that hearing Him talk about any subject is better than nothing at all.
Isa 30:19-21 NKJV
For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. 20 And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. 21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
Tonight when dropping off our grandson, we were told he needed to get some vegies down as he was now refusing to eat them. When it came time to feed him, it became very evident after a couple tries, that vegies were now on the BAD STUFF list. So Papa Wayne had a spoon full of vegies and Grammy Sandy had a tiny piece of bread and jam. We found that if I offered the tiny piece of bread, he would open his mouth for that, and Papa would slip the vegies in on a side swipe! When we told the kids when they came to pick up our grandson, they laughed and said they do the very same thing!
WORD TO PONDER: SWEET AND SOUR, SALT AND SUGAR
Beloved sometimes you are so set in your ways that we come to a stand still until you are willing to hear what I AM speaking into your life. I have many ways of getting you to chew and swallow strong food so it is not a problem to Me. However I would like you to understand that sometimes I take you the long way around an issue simply because you are unwilling to receive it any other way. I may mix something sweet with sour circumstances, and perhaps bring you through a salty dry time of thirst for Me while at the same time I say something sweet that appeases you enough to seek Me in a different way. Try being more flexible in your boundaries of listening skills and things may change more pleasantly.
Ps 63:1-2 NKJV
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.
ASSIGNMENT: FIND A PARABLE RIGHT NOW
ASSIGNMENT: Close your eyes and ask the Holy Spirit to draw your eyes to something in the room you are sitting. Open your eyes and trust that He will draw your eyes and quickened something that pops out at you. Now ask yourself these questions:
- What is the function of what you are looking at?
- Does it have a purpose?
- Does it have a special value or significance to you?
- Now consider the function or purpose or significance of the item in spiritual terms.
- Match the quickened buzz word of a concept with a connecting spiritual word or concept in the Bible.
- After you have found the scripture, look up scriptural cross references that connect with that theme.
- Allow the Holy Spirit to bring into remembrance the stories, experiences, rhema or Words that relate to the same theme.
- Draw conclusions or applications to the spiritual parable as to how it applies to your own life.
MAY YOU DISCOVER THE JOY OF GOD’S HIDDEN LOVE NOTES,
PLACED THERE JUST FOR YOU!
