I went to the Hospital in Japan for the first time today. As always, being in a new culture brings a boatload (or countryload?) full of new experiences- and this visit to get a check up was no exception. I was awed by how timely and organized everything was. In the time span of an hour myself and 5 colleagues all had our weight, height and blood pressure measured, we had a sight and hearing test, as well as an x-ray and a visit with the doctor herself. We were shuffled in and out of different rooms along a single corridor and moved from machine to machine each with their own operators and nurses all performing their own functions. Every entrance and exit brought on the slight bow, and an understanding face. They were very gracious with me and allowed my female coworker to tag along as translator throughout all of the tests. This event was novel and interesting, but also significant in that it brought together both past memories and a lesson that God has been teaching me throughout my time here in Japan.The lesson is gratitude; a feeling that is expressed thoroughly in Japan. The more I see it in the gestures and cultural attitude that permeate this place, the more I realize how much I have to learn.
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17
Growing up amidst Christian culture a sense of gratitude has always been an important element in my life. I knew that the all the good things in my life were from God and that it was to him that I owed continuous thanks. In most life lessons there comes a time when what you know in your head has to move to your heart, or else it’s just another paper and pen mandate; another good quote that someone else said and another motto in life that gets lost when it’s not immediate. Ultimately the move from head knowledge to heart knowledge is when it moves from an inspiring idea to a part of your daily, practical life. It becomes a personal conviction, built into the makeup of your belief and directly influences how you operate. So the real significance is not that this is important (I think we can all conclude that gratitude is important), where the significance lies is in the journey of how it moves from important to integral.
Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
About three years ago I had a regular eye doctors appoint; regular as in nearly monthly (I visited the eye doctor like most people frequent grocery stores). This check-up lead to a request to go so a specialist, and the request to see a specialist brought the news that I had a degenerative eye disease. As most unexpected medical news is brought with a barrage of thoughts and questions; so was this moment. The situation was that I had small rips and holes in my cornea and there was the potential that if these tears got too big that my cornea would detach resulting blindness ( don’t worry- I’m ok, it’s all good). Now, I really am not aiming to sound over-dramatic here, so I’ll skip to the end of the story. I went for a whole series of laser eye treatments, many of which became ridiculous anecdotes as my eye specialist reminded me of the stereotypical ‘town drunk’ character; but, in the end of it all, my eyes are fine. I even had a laser eye surgery following that series of surgeries and now I am free of glasses forever!! A truly amazing feat considering how ridiculously poor my vision was. I’ll likely have to keep getting my eyes checked and maybe go for more treatments; but all in all I’m not too worried about any of the ‘bad news’ part of the story. Now, taking a few steps back in this story, this news did bring about something that was much more important in my life than some zapping lasers.
As the doctor told me about the ‘could happen’ situation, my mind had to follow along the path of wondering ‘what if the worst happened?’ I had to contemplate; what would my life be like if I became fully blind? My initial reaction included a sense of being ‘wronged’, it simply didn’t seem fair to me. I felt that life would have served me a huge plate of injustice (and I’m sure I would have added to it a side of bitterness for good measure). However initial reactions are never meant to be the place where we park our thoughts; they are intended to lead us into deeper thinking. So, on I went. I realized that really, I had no reason to feel burned by life. Was not sight a blessing? A gift? An amazing, precious present that I had experienced for years. Was this not true of so many things in life? Walking, the ability to talk, my sense of touch, safety and security. (This list is unending so just allow your imaginations to fill in the rest). Far too often I think that we assume that because we have something, we deserve it. We live our lives with any particular blessing for a long period of time and it becomes an expectation, you are entitled to it, it is owed to you, not having it would be an injustice! … and I’m pretty sure it’s not.
The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. Proverbs 10:28
What right do you have to anything in life? Can you claim that you actually deserve the lovely blessings that you have received in your life? I can’t speak for you—but personally, I can’t justify why my life has been so dang great. It’s not that I haven’t worked hard, and it’s not that I haven’t aimed to achieve some goals— but really, God has been the one who has so graciously provided for me all my needs. He is the one who has given me the blessing of finance, health, opportunities and success.
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is the God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
When you move from ‘this is owed to me’ to ‘this is a gift to me’ your outlook shifts significantly. This helps to put God’s work in clear focus, and this allows us to see what he is doing in our lives. It also minimizes the sense of this is what I am doing in my life; which sometimes needs to be shrunk down and put into it’s place. This gratitude also bring a sense of joy; what was once a norm and an expectation becomes the most wonderful and amazing gift in your life. I will accuse myself here and admit that I do not live in this correct mindset. My goal is to remember and recognize God’s blessing throughout my life and retain a perspective that realizes the magnitude of God’s gracious work. I am, as everyone is, continuing to grow. Growing includes fumbling the ball, tripping in the mud, and generally making a big mess of things more frequently than not. I am continuing to bow before God and thank him for the work that he is doing, and even more grateful that he’s not done yet—because there’s a lot left to do.
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me. Psalms 50:23
More recently, I’ve come to see that viewing things through a perspective of gratitude can be a safe guard against spiritual attacks. It is your best line of defense; your best-fortified wall, the impassable span that stops the enemy before damage can be done. It’s hard for the devil to get in and make you feel angry, bitter, sad, lonely or frustrated when you can’t stop saying “God thank you for all these great and wonderful things that you are doing”… it just doesn’t leave much of a foothold for him.
To apply this personally, this has been important to me as I am living overseas. It’s easy to get frustrated by the way life is that’s not the way I’m used to. I can allow bitterness and resentment to creep in and for the devil to use the culture that I am surrounded by to keep me debilitated and stop the work that God is doing in my life. I want my mind to stay in a fresh state of thanks and not allow the time that passes to make my appreciation dwindle. I want to be mindful of what a blessing my work is; and how great God is that he provided this amazing job for me – no matter how long I’ve been working. I want to always be reminding myself of how wonderful it is that God has made it possible for me to be living in this country and serving these people. I want to acknowledge all the things that God has done, and will continue to do in all areas of my life; and through this to be strengthened and encouraged to keep pressing on and serving him.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7
God, Thank you, Seriously!
