Process of Perception

I do the same thing every tuesday morning. I slowly walk through the doors of the office, still caught between dreams and reality. I grabbed my coffee, open up the office, and headed to devotions.

Each tuesday we have devotions, with a rotation of people who lead. Today it was our assistant superintendent's turn, which I always enjoy. This time he had with him a pastor from a foreign country, who do not have the rights that we enjoy. Right away this caught my attention. The pastor began to talk about his experience here in the states, how he is enjoying it, and how much different our culture is from his.

He began to talk about the freedoms he didn't have, the things he could not enjoy. He spoke of struggles that people face in his country, and how the Church is under constant surveillance and scrutiny of the government. He reminded us of how grateful we should be for all that we have.

He continued to speak of the different things he saw in the American church and culture: closets filled with clothes, "giving up" our expensive coffee for a missions fundraiser, and churches with walls. He spoke of how in his country, people will travel in hurricane conditions to be at church. He explained the layers of government surveillance that comes through his church on a regular basis to make sure that the church is not stirring up people against the government. He spoke of a church of 650 people who meet in a building with no walls, and couldn't use their basement because of recent flooding issues.

When he first got to the states, he simply asked "I want chocolate." He was asked, "what kind of chocolate, milk chocolate, fudge, dutch, semi-sweet? What?" "No, I just want chocolate was his response." I looked down at my coffee, a mint mocha, and realized the simplest things I take for granted.

His comments and other recent events reminded me of what I have been pondering lately:

It's funny the things we consider suffering in America. It's even more peculiar the things we consider trials. I am not downplaying the serious issues many people face each day from abuse, tragedy, and such, but there is so much we look at as suffering, that simply is not.

I remember recently walking through the office, and the receptionist asked, "having a bad day?" My auto-response wanted to say, 'yes!' It was a busy day, a hectic day, things were not getting done as quickly as I would have liked, and people were not returning my calls. I would have thought it a bad day. However recent events caused me to pause for a moment and look at her and say, "no, its busy, but I'm not having a bad day. People in Haiti, they are having a bad day."

I've been contemplating perception, the way I look at life, my situations, what I struggle with. I hear stories like the pastor who spoke to us in devotions; I see the tragedies taking place in Haiti and Chile; I hear of families struggling with tragedy from death and disease. I realize that I have much to be grateful for.

When the 12 spies went in to the promised land, they all viewed the same thing. They saw the land, the people, the cities. 10 spies came back "seeing" what was in the way. 2 came back seeing all the God was ready to provide for them. Paul and Silas sat in a jail far worse than any dorm room I have seen at Bethany. With death potentially knocking at their door, they looked at their situation and began to sing.

Would I have sung a song? Would I have agreed with the ten spies. To often we forget that God is on our side. He goes before us. He guides our steps. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" The Pastor who spoke to us in devotions gets this. He knows circumstances and situations don't determine our perception. He doesn't see what is in his way, he remembers Who is with him; Who is on his side.

It seems so many of our problems we face are not due to what we lack, but what we have an excess of. An abundance of food has lead to health problems; an abundance of wealth has led to overwhelming debt; and abundance of knowledge had let to a lack of wisdom and dependence on God. a misuse of God's blessings are is tragedy.

All good things come from God. Let us remember that God remains so very good to us. Let us remember who has provided all these blessings. Let us remember that he has called us to be good stewards of all that he has blessed us with. Let us remember who God has called us to be. Let us be grateful, and let us never forget.