A square peg in a round hole
Have you heard the old saying "A square peg in a round hole"? It seems to indicate that someone, or something is out of place, that it just doesn't fit in. The square edges of the peg stop it from going into that hole. If the hole was bigger it might fit, but it would only be touching on the edges of the square corners. This would make it very obvious that it definitely doesn't belong there.
Sometimes we feel like that might be us, sometimes we feel like we simply do not fit into our Christian walk. It's like we are out of place or something. Perhaps no one else feels like that, maybe it's just something I alone have gone through, but I don't really think this is the case.
As Anne and I prayed this morning, (Friday the 5th of July 2019) the LORD showed me HIS perspective of this saying. HE showed me several different levels of this truth, the truth that a square peg will not fit into a round hole unless there are some modifications done to it. So it is with us.
This truth fits into many things, such as marriage, families, churches and even communities. So let us look deeper into this matter, let us look at us being a Christian and how our square corners or rough edges can stop us fitting in.
A persons entire outlook on life is dictated by what is called "THEIR FRAME OF REFERENCE". This frame is formed right from the time of our first breath on this earth. It is formed by what enters into our minds through any and/or all of the five senses we have. What we see, what we hear, what we smell, what we touch and what we taste, these all leave lasting impressions on us, impressions that last for the rest of our lives.
For example, have you ever been somewhere and smelt a perfume that reminded you of someone from your past, such as the smell of your Mother, Auntie or some other person you knew was associated with that smell in the past. This usually triggers some emotion associated with that person, such as a sense of loss at the passing of that loved one, or maybe it triggers a reaction of hurt or anger. Whatever emotions are triggered are not caused by that smell but by what has happened to you whilst with that person. That reaction has now been brought back to your memory, simply by smelling something familiar.
This Frame of Reference (F.O.R) is something that we all carry about with us every day of our lives. Every action, or re-action, will be governed by this as our psyche weighs up our every thought and action, based on the memories of our past.
Another example is when someone has hurt us in the past, let us use and older family member from my past as an example. I used to play Soccer every weekend as a youth. There was one thing I wanted more than anything, for my Parents, especially my Father, to be there to watch me play, at least once in my life. But the sad reality is he never came to one of my games, or any other activity that was important to me. I would spend most of the game watching the sidelines to see if he came, this made me a very bad player, and a very disappointed Son.
As a youth I could not understand the reason why this happened, or even that it was happening to me. But as an adult I now know why he could never come to my activities, HE was just too sick to go anywhere. He eventually died when I was just 15 , after having Multiple heart attacks, three strokes and eventually dying of Lung Cancer, which was caused by smoking. Knowing this now has helped me a lot, but it still made me think, and feel hurt, whenever I drove past that soccer ground where I spent much of my youth.
Our F.O.R has the ability to make us put up walls around us to protect us from hurt, and even sad memories. These things are like growths on our psyche that stop us fitting into something very precious. It stops us fitting into a hole, (just like the sharp edges on a square peg prevent it fitting into a round hole). But it is not a round hole like the square peg is trying to fit into that GOD wants us to fit into, but a JESUS shaped hole.
GOD wants us to be conformed into the Image and Likeness of HIS Precious SON JESUS. But there are things stopping us from fitting into that mould, these can be lots of things, but most of all it can be our Frame of Reference. If we have been told by those whom we respected that we are useless, then we will have a F.O.R of being a useless person. If we have been told by those in authority within the Church that it is a blessing to be poor like Mother Teresa, then we will have a psyche of "poor is Holy". This is not what the Word of GOD says about our health though.
If we have been told that sickness is "Just Natural, that it happens to everyone and there is nothing that we can do about it, Miracles passed away when the Apostles of old did", then that is what our Frame of Reference will be when we read the word of GOD. We will interpret GOD's Word as being something that happened in the past and is not applicable to us today. This makes us very much a square peg trying to fit into a round hole when it comes to our Spiritual walk.
The Word of GOD has been given to us as words of LIFE. They are necessary for our very existence, they are the very truth that will change our lives. They will change our entire FRAME OF REFERENCE if we let them.
As we read and reflect on the truths found in GOD's Holy Word then our entire being, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and in every other aspect will be changed. The Word of GOD has the ability to chip those rough edges off us, rough edges built up by our F.O.R that was not under the covering of GOD, nor the guidance of the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD.
Before we walked in the LOVE and protection of GOD we walked in a world that was so destructive, simply because it is a world that had come under the control of a destructive demon called Lucifer, or as we refer to his title, the devil (accuser). The Word of GOD tells us in the book of Revelation (Rev 12:9) that the great dragon was cast out of Heaven, down to the Earth, which the KJV refers to as the whole Earth, whereas the Literal version of the KJ tells us it was to the habitable Earth that he was cast down to and it was this habitable world that he deceived.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent being called devil, and, Satan; he deceiving the whole habitable world was cast out onto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
This world that we inhabit has been under the deception of the devil ever since the fall of Mankind in Genesis chapter 3. Right from that time on the evil one has been influencing the psyche of Mankind to think evil thoughts, just like him, whereas GOD wants HIS Children to think Loving thoughts, just like HIM.
To that end GOD sent HIS SON JESUS to pay for our sin and to be set as an example for us to follow. HE came and showed us the way for us to live our lives. And just to make it easier for us on this side of the Cross of Calvary, HE put all of the instructions that we need in a nice neat package called the Bible.
We all need to have our Frame of References changed, they need to be changed from our worldly aspects into the Divine aspects of GOD. We all need to start seeing ourselves as GOD sees us, to be as HE knows we can be, not as our original Frame Of Reference tells us we are. GOD has such a different outlook on us, and for us that we all need to seek out, we need to know what it is that HE says about us. And of course, the best place to find what HE says about us is in HIS Holy Word.
Sitting under a GOD-ly Pastor, or having a Spouse that is under the inspiration of the HOLY SPIRIT, these things can all sometimes feel as though they are rough times that we are going through as we feel some kind of action happening to us, something that we are not quite in control of, something that causes a feeling of discomfort in us. All of these things can be the HOLY SPIRIT rubbing off the rough edges that our old F.O.R has built up on us.
These rough edges need to come off of us so that we an fit snugly into the mould that the LORD has created for us, not only into the JESUS mould that we spoke of earlier, but also those times of conflict within our relationships (marriages) can be the HOLY SPIRIT rubbing off those rough edges so that we fit neatly into the marriage mould more snugly.
As Pastor Frank would often remind us, "Iron sharpens Iron". We sharpen our Kitchen knives by rubbing the steel blades against other pieces of metal and rub off the rough edges, leaving smooth, sharp edges that perform the duty they were created to do, and they do it much more efficiently.
So it is with anyone who is in a relationship, whether it be a relationship with GOD, with a family member, a Christian Brother or Sister, a Spouse, or anyone else that we are close to. Those times of conflict may not be because there is a problem, instead it may be GOD rubbing some rough edges off us.
Don't always look at the other person in a conflict, seek GOD and ask HIM what needs to be rubbed off us first, and let GOD deal with the other members of that conflict, only HE can effectively get their rough edges off. It is HIS job to do that, not ours.
HE is doing that in our relationship with HIM and HIS SON, so why wouldn't HE do it in our earthly relationships.
GOD Bless you all, hope this helps.
Lots of love
Don Phillips
07/07/2019