See The Blessing Before You

Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land, and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plenteous years. -Genesis 41:34 

Dear members and friends,

A long time ago, I read a story that went something like this: 

There was a faithful man who believed that God answered all his prayers. One summer there came a heavy rain where this man lived and flooded the whole area. As people were rushing to evacuate, a neighbor knocked on his door and said, “The flood is coming, you should leave now! We have a room for you in our car.” The faithful man told his neighbor, “I believe that my God will rescue me.” The neighbor left hurriedly. Soon after, the flood came upon his house and he had to climb onto the roof. As he was praying to God for rescue off the roof, a boat passed by. “Hey, come down here! We have a room for you,” shouted someone from the boat. The faithful man replied, “Thank you, but no thank you. I am sure that my God will rescue me soon.” The boat left. As the water level rose leaving the man on a very small patch of roof and he prayed even harder for rescue, he heard a loud sound above his head. The man looked up and saw a helicopter lowering a rope, which stopped right above his head. But, he shook his head and shouted to the helicopter, “Thank you, but no thank you. My God will send a rescue very soon!” The helicopter left him. Inevitably, the rose above his head and he drowned. After death, he came to God and asked, “God, I have been faithful to you in my entire life. Why didn’t you save me from the flood?” God looked at him with pity and answered, “I sent you your neighbor, the boat and even the rescue helicopter. What more did you expect?”

Many times, I listened to the complaints of people simply because they were not helped, cared, loved, or benefited in the exact way that they desired or expected. However, when we take our life as a whole and count all our blessings, we would find plenty of reasons to be grateful for who we are and what we already have. Things may not happen in the exact way we desire, but our life is filled with miracles from the very moment of conception all the way to the present moment. The most important truth about life is that our misplaced desires often lead us into a trap of feeling misfortunate, while following the lead of God always guides us toward a blessed way of being. 

My friends and family in God, let us take a moment and be open to view our life as a whole and embrace all blessings, no matter where we are and how we are. The joy of heaven flows in only when our mind is open and compatible with heaven. Let us invite heaven into our hearts and mind, which automatically pushes hell and darkness away. 

Blessings, Rev. Junchol Lee