I was out in the garden this afternoon and grabbed hold of a piece of rough wood which promptly gave me a splinter in my hand. What always amazes me is how annoying and painful a tiny little splinter can be. I couldn’t pick up or bump against anything with my hand without feeling the sting of that splinter, and until I purposely stopped, got a needle and dug it out I was uncomfortable.
That splinter got me thinking about how often we can walk around with emotional, mental or spiritual “splinters” in our lives. We get disappointed, see or hear a hurtful or derogatory comment, come under spiritual attack and have experiences and circumstances that wound or take a toll on us, as they dig into our hearts and minds. We tell ourselves that, “It’s nothing; stuff like that doesn’t matter or affect us and we’ll be fine”. Yet other people, words, our experiences – all the little hurts we feel, can be like “splinters” in our soul which dig in and cause pain. Each if undealt with carries the potential to damage, scar and limit our lives.
The bible talks about the little foxes that burrowed under the vines and damaged the plant so that the quality of the crop was affected. It says, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.” (Song of Solomon 2:15). Those little foxes (which in our hearts resemble splinters), if not evicted can hinder and even stop us flourishing and producing what we could in life. They damage our ability to love, to move forward, to trust, to step out in faith and to be free.
It may seem like a small thing to have a splinter, but once you dig it out the relief is instant and you’d be silly to leave it in your skin. The same goes for the splinters in our hearts and minds.
Don’t ignore discomfort or pain, instead take the time to stop and discern what it is that is causing it. Pray and ask God to help you dig out what’s bothering you and put some healthy strategies in place to protect you from getting any more splinters. Then allow God to to lovingly pour some “antiseptic” on your wounds so that you can heal again.
The quicker we deal with “splinters” the less distraction, discomfort and damage they do.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 34:18)
Prayer: Lord please help me to see where I have “splinters” in my life which are causing pain or discomfort. I don’t want to ignore these things anymore and I ask that you help me to deal with and dig out anything that has the potential to limit, cause pain or stop me from moving forward. In Jesus name Amen.
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