Thinking in Metaphors and Symbols

I know what you see. A beautiful red rose. But what do you see? What else could this picture say to you?

The power of God to make something from nothing? Or how about the fragility of flower petals or the way a rose opens gradually? That could speak of honoring process, not forcing things, and letting go of a “make-it-happen” approach.

Or perhaps it’s symbolic of earthly beauty that will pass away. Hmm. What do you see?

How about this?

In a dream or vision, a bed can symbolize sickness, intimacy, rest, or sorrow depending on what God is saying to you.  He can talk about many things, if you learn to see beyond a mere concrete image.

Airplanes can point to the prophetic, or seeing from God’s point of view—especially regarding earthly matters.

Is it a big plane, or a small one? Is it old-fashion or modern? Are you a passenger, the pilot, or just observing the plane from the ground? Details often matter.

For me, airplanes have to do with the launch of writing. I not only saw airplanes in dreams, I also recognized numbers such as 747 and 787 on clocks, receipts, phone numbers, and license plates.

God even spoke a first and last word over my writing life on page 747 of a dictionary. You can read the whole story if you click on the links.

Consider this peculiar statue in a small Alabama town called Enterprise. Is that a beautiful woman holding a boll weevil? It’s a symbol of great significance to the people there. The insidious bug destroyed the cotton crop, which caused devastation and bankruptcy. Eventually farmers planted many other kinds of produce. The diversity yielded a much stronger economy.

Symbolically it carries many biblical themes…

–God taking what the enemy meant for evil and turning it to good.

–Lose your life (or livelihood) in order to save it.

–God restoring the years the locusts have eaten.

–Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, minds cannot conceive what the Lord has planned for those who love Him.

–Welcoming trials as “friends.”

 

What do you see in the next picture?

Tire tracks on a frosty parking lot?

Two leaves on a vine?

Or double hearts?

What would God be saying to you?

Contemplate the symbolic meaning in different kinds of hammers.

A doctor’s plexor could symbolize knee-jerk reactions, jumping to conclusions, false assumptions. It could also mean generating healthy responses.

A judge’s gavel has to do with justice…or maybe judgment.

A builder’s hammer could be about constructing something. On the other hand it could symbolize feeling “hammered” or hurt.

Here’s one more:

“Do you know how God feels about you?”

God used this famous painting called, The Kiss, by Gustav Klimt to answer that question for me. He also backed it up with a verse:

“Let his left hand be under my head, and his right hand embrace me.” Song of Solomon 8:3

Could it be more exact?

Ask God to give you spiritual eyes and ears that pick up on the nuances of the Holy Spirit. God is speaking all the time.  Will we miss it?