Day 1
Heart Language
When I think of poetry, I think of the language of the heart. A poem takes the familiar and accessible medium of “words” that we use for everyday communication and deepens their impact by crafting them beautifully and intentionally. A poem provokes thought and deepens perspective. Poetic language can appeal past our intellect to the very core of us, stirring our souls and awakening our depths. Has a song ever strongly moved you, but you couldn’t quite explain why? It’s kind of like that.
When I think of the words of Jesus, which are Spirit and Life, I would describe them in the same way. They have oceans beneath them. The longer we linger, the more we discover. They allow room for the beauty and nuance of story and aren’t always concerned with clear cut logic. The living words that the Spirit speaks have a similar effect on us as poetry— they pierce past our limited understanding into the core of us, stirring our souls and opening up deeper facets of seeing.
And so, I think it’s safe to describe God as a Poet. He is the master of the multifaceted, hiding depths of meaning within the layers, all of which He uses to pursue and fascinate us. I believe that He approached the creation of the world poetically and still engages with His creation that way today. He is the Crafter of the grandest story, which He has woven together with the billions of micro-stories of our every day lives. He is brilliant.
Even the pages of Scripture— God’s words to us— are full of poetry, song, imagery, and analogy. They are full of heart. Throughout the prophets, He speaks with great emotion and the words spill out in the form of metaphor, simile, repetition, and word pictures, as if that’s the only expression that can do justice to what He really feels for them. The parables of Jesus are similar in that they invoke story and imagery to cut to the heart and communicate a deeper meaning. Poetic language is the language of the heart and it is the means in which God speaks to us.
When God poured out His Spirit at Pentecost, He did this very thing. As His disciples now spoke Spirit-inspired words, they were supernaturally translated into multiple tongues, so that each person present could hear the good news in a way they could understand. Somehow, in one breath, with one Spirit, God spoke personally to each person in their mother tongue. It’s like He was saying loud and clear: “I speak the exact language of your heart! I’m giving you my Spirit so that each of you can really know and have a unique relationship with Me”.
Our God is a Poet and a Father who created and understands the individual personalities of each of His children and deliberately pursues them accordingly. He is void of passivity. This is not a generic pursuit but a poetic intentionality that awakens our deep, with His deep. And the Spirit, who searches and knows God’s depth, fills our depths with His love— speaking to us in the very language of our hearts.
Questions to Consider:
What would you say your “heart language” is? What things land easily with you and resonate without even trying?
Have you ever become suddenly aware that God was in a moment and it wasn’t just ordinary? I think of when Jacob was running from Essau and picked “any old rock” to lay his head on, but then was spoken to by God through a dream. His words when he woke up were: “Surely God is in this place and I didn’t know it”. He was confronted with the personal pursuit of God toward him. Have you ever had a moment like that where God intersected your story and caught your attention with something big or small? Write and reflect on this moment.
Over time, I’ve developed a little language with God where certain things mean something to me and whenever I see or hear them, I can tell He’s wanting to catch my attention or just say “I love you”. Do you have any things like that? If so, write them down.
We’re all on a journey with this, so it’s ok if you’re still discovering. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you more of how He specifically designed you. Ask Him to develop a language between you and Him where He can easily send little things across your path that communicate that He sees you and loves you.
Creative Prompt:
When pursuing creative writing or poetry, imagery is a great tool to use. The definition of imagery is “to paint a picture with words by using sensory detail and emotion so the reader can see and experience the scene instead of just being told about it”. For example, instead of saying: “It was beautiful”, you could say: “Golden light spilled across the wheat fields while the wind moved through them like waves on water”. Instead of saying: “She was nervous”, you could say: “She twisted the edge of her sleeve until her knuckles turned white”.
Like the examples above, write a few plain sentences about your day or about something around you. Then, rewrite the sentence in order to embellish it using imagery and sensory language.
Now, take the moment where God intersected your story that you wrote about from the questions above and try to explain that experience more “poetically”. Try to write in a way that enhances the moment by using imagery, metaphor, sensory details, or other elements of writing.