I misplaced the Os Guinness book I'm reading so I've been reviewing my Quiet Time Journal the last couple of evenings and I keep coming back to this entry...
godless men ... KNEW God
but neither glorified him as God
nor gave thanks to him
their thinking became futile
their foolish hearts were darkened.
In other words they saw but did not recognize; they preferred their own thoughts.
Why don't we recognize his will? Maybe for the same reason these godless men don't recognize him though they may clearly see him - because we're too busy with our own thoughts and don't see what is right in front of us... don't see what we're looking at even though we are looking for it.
I love my work, but sometimes its hard to see people flailing about and wonder why they can't see what's right in front of them. I have a feeling that I wrote that entry after a long talk in which I wanted to say "You know if I made a checklist of what you want, I think I could check off nearly every point - its all there!" ... but like I wrote " we're too busy with our own thoughts" of loneliness, frustration, anger and despair. And in the case of many of my younger friends, a mistaken idea of love... for people who think about it all the time, they don't seem to see what they really want very clearly!
3 comments:
i think maybe that's why I've been advised to leave major decision makings until I leave Japan. perhaps living alone (for me) is like living in a black hole that kinda sucks me in, and I get so busy with my own thoughts I'm not capable of seeing what He's placed before me. and maybe that's why i feel the need to get out of my apartment all the time. i need to get away from my own thoughts.
When are you coming to stay over again?
Putting off all your decisions isn't always possible/practical. And I'm not sure that the answer is to be busy, busy, busy...
But it DOES help to get out. A good long walk in the sunshine, sitting with Bible and journal in a coffee shop, an afternoon or evening in quiet discussion with a (Christian) friend or two... these all help.
Just bustling about and trying to drown out your thoughts usually works quite the wrong effect - they just hassle you all the more when you return to the "black hole" of your apartment.
When you're needing out you're welcome for a visit in Aji - just invite yourself. We do walks and quiet talks... and there's even a coffee shop or two.
There's also a really nice onsen! You really need to learn about the healing power of the onsen. :-)
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