Beverage Words

Some good friends of mine introduced me to the concept of “beverage words” a while back. A beverage word is one that everyone knows the meaning of but rarely uses in conversation. For example, rarely are we asked if we would like a beverage, but rather if we would like something to drink. Other examples are words like trousers, vehicle, automobile, influenza, aircraft and toiletries. These are all words that we know but seem strange in everyday conversations. "Would you mind moving your automobile?" "Your mobile is ringing." While there is nothing wrong with the grammar it sounds strange to our ears.

Living in a foreign country where I am in high demand for my native English skills I have been forced to think much more deeply concerning the meaning of words. So many students get frustrated with English having so many different words to explain the same thing. In exasperation they ask me to explain the difference between being anxious and being worried. There is great rejoicing when they begin to understand the slight difference between something being funny or something being hilarious.

I have always liked words, and I seldom walk away from a good pun. However having to give concrete understandings of when to use certain words to ESL students can be a great challenge. There is a lot of fluidity in language and usually you have to define words by examples rather than pure definition alone.

More and more I have been spending my days in Chinese. However, I have come to understand that it is not really just Chinese but rather Lisa’ese. As I teach our café cook to decorate cakes I find I am not really sure what language I am speaking. Certainly not English; while the sounds are similar to Chinese it is something different. She responds back with large gestures and very proudly uses the 4 English sounds that she knows. We have discovered a way of communicating that is greater than either of our native tongues. I have read articles about learning how to learn language; this seems to be a common occurrence. We all develop our own language and culture and since language’s main purpose is to communicate, then it must be in relation to others.

As I spend more time with my Father I realize that we have been developing our own language as well. The more time I spend in the word the more that I begin to understand a deeper meaning, the nuance of His words. While I have benefited from the academic study of many of my friends, I am still slightly intimidated when they pull out their Greek dictionaries. This academic pursuit has enhanced my perspective yet I speak more of the growth of my relationship with Him. As I have pushed deeper into the word it has opened my eyes and ears to how vast our Father is and how he chooses to communicate.

This past year there has been several specific words that keep playing over and over in my head. The first was rest. What does it mean to rest in the Lord? Like beverage words, it is a term that makes sense but is also somewhat strange. How does one rest in someone? I am used to taking a rest, getting more rest, but to rest in someone? As a verb, to rest can mean many different things but the one that I have been learning to understand with God is “to remain confident”. I was so struck this semester when I read, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) It is not a suggestion but a command. Do not be afraid. I have no choice but to rest in my Father.

In my struggle to understand what it means to rest, I soon discovered that it meant I must first trust Him, or in other words, I must first put confidence in the Father in order to remain in it. This is not an easy task. Though I have continuously seen God provide for me in abundance, I still had this underlying fear that He was putting good things in front of me only to take them away so that I would learn He was the only one that I could depend on. I am embarrassed to write that thought down because I know that my Father is not malicious. However, it was a fear that I had to release so that I could commit to following Him in full.

Commitment isn’t something that comes easily for me because it means persuing one possibility over others. If I committed to being in China for a longer time it meant I couldn’t live anywhere else. This might seem rather obvious, but I was finding it very tempting to think about the other possibilities of where else I could be when things were hard. If relationships got too tense I could escape into my thoughts about all the other places I could be. To commit to being where God wanted me to be meant giving up control. It meant trusting him and resting in Him alone and letting go of the many possibilities that I was clinging to.

Well to my amazement as I let go I discovered another “beverage word: delight. I love to describe things as delightful, but until recently I didn’t understand what it might mean to delight in the Lord. It is a word that means both to give joy and take satisfaction. When we delight in the Father we too find great joy. I was amazed when my thoughts were almost exactly written out in Psalm 37:3-5

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

As I have learned to trust the Father I have indeed found that he has given me the desires of my heart. I am grateful for the order of the passage, first I must trust, but then I get to delight! Then it isn’t as hard to commit to my Loving Father.

I am so grateful for the way that my Father chooses to communicate. I am delighted to find that His rest is as sweet as he said it would be.