English is so full of idioms. It’s no wonder that it can be a difficult language to master. Just this week, I was journaling and telling the Lord that I felt “out of sorts.” I became curious about the etymology of this idiom and found out that in the 17th century, sorts were the names that typographers used for the letters that were manually inserted into the printing presses. To be out of sorts, meant not having all that is needed.
As I interacted with the Lord, I saw an image of letters falling from heaven to earth to me. The Lord was sending me sorts, so that I wouldn’t be “out of sorts!” I sensed the Lord’s joy with this word play! He was using the etymology of the idiom in a humorous but also literal way. And it gave me joy! It reminded me of Isaiah 55:10-12:
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
it will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Seeing all the snow that has been dumped in Ottawa over the past week can encourage us. His word is like the snow! It comes to us, encourages us, makes us flourish. It accomplishes His purposes. And as a result, we go out in joy!
So may we all hear His voice, may we all receive His word like the snow and rain that falls, so that we will be filled with His sorts (words) and no longer be out of sorts!
