This blog post is a day later than usual because I was waiting for God to show me what I should write. I’m still weak and shaky after last week’s drama and falls. At five o’clock this morning I was forced to make the approximately 70 foot walk from my chair to the bathroom on my walker with weak, unstable knees. I live alone, but God never leaves my side.
Over 58 years ago, I was stationed on Okinawa. One of the first phrases I learned in Japanese was “Thank you very much.” It was also the phrase I used the most. Two years later, while stationed on the Greek island of Crete, I learned and used that phrase in Greek. Why do I mention those two events? Because when I successfully made it to the bathroom this morning, after half a century those two phrases suddenly returned to my mind and came out of my mouth. I guess a simple “Thank you, Lord” just wasn’t enough to express my joy and relief on that occasion.
I’ve mentioned before that the most common phrase in any language is, “I love you.” I have to believe that “Thank you very much” comes in a close second. Expressing gratitude is an important action in everyday life and especially in our prayer life as Christians. God does so much for us that we can’t even begin to comprehend it all. All He asks from us is our thankfulness and our obedience as His children.
Another lesson I learned from this experience is that what we memorize can come back to us at the most opportune time. So, it is important that we memorize positive and encouraging language that will be helpful in the future. There is nothing more positive or encouraging than God’s word. As Christians with God’s Spirit dwelling in us we not only store His word in our memory, but we also keep His word in our heart. (Psalms 119:11) Jesus demonstrated how to use God’s word to resist temptation. We try to memorize chapter and verse but the words themselves are what is important. With technology, it is easy to look up the location of a verse in the Bible, if we forget where we read it, but the important thing is that the message is there in our mind and heart whenever it is needed.