Dear…
You are my refuge and my shield, Your word is my source of hope
Psalms 119:114
Midnight Diner is the Netflix series that revolves around an Izakaya place in Shinjuku that is unique in that it operates in the wee hours of 12am - 7am. The chef cum owner not only serves up homely dishes, but a good listening ear cum practical advice to the coterie of customers who frequent his diner.
Many of whom with unresolved hurts or ongoing issues of life.
Is this not the same for all of us??
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah 1:5
The Land of the Rising Sun was where our good Lord called me back in 2012. It has been 9 wonderful years, wonderful in that what seems impossible, by His grace became possible.
And our good Lord looked not at our achievements, but oneś obedience. And Japan is one hard ground where many who have sowed faithfully, often get disillusioned by the meagre harvest.
One new convert per Church per year. And the budding converts often revert back to their old ways, in the lonely and harsh conformist society of Japan.
With that understanding, Japan as a ministry ground for me has been challenging but never daunting, for our good Lord provided. And I believed we were successful in His eyes, for the focus was on Him and our obedience, and not about what the world thinks.
And so in the past one year, as I prepared to wind down the level of involvement with Japan and move on to China, things seem to affirm it was the right next direction.
So why did our good Lord in recent days bring me back to a deeper immersion in Japan?
Izakaya Bottakuri is another food oriented Netflix short series that I had just completed watching. I must be having a visual feast to satisfy a penchant for Japanese food in Japan that is no longer possible for now, with the Covid19 restrictions.
Helmed by two lovely sisters, who were committed to continue the legacy of their late parents, the regulars came for the delicious food cooked with love and for the camaraderie.
Bottakuri means rip off, and the Izakaya was so named because the late founder of the place had always strived to cook better and felt that he had not reached a standard that justified what the clientele paid, which in itself was very reasonable.
If food is for the soul, and from the snippets in both series, what seems unique to Japanese society is no different for humanity in general. Each and every soul feels burdened by life and looks for consolation and encouragement. And while things of the world do provide temporary respite, that emptiness is always never closed fully if at all and even that transient resolution often leads to collateral damage.
Only God can close that vacuum in our hearts.
You are my refuge and my shield, Your word is my source of hope
Psalms 119:114
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
3rd Oct 2021
An afterthought - What is cooking today?
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose
Romans 8:28
As I listened just, to the sermon by my favorite Pastor in Taiwan, who by Godś grace seems to have turned the corner from his terminal brain tumor. The message shared on the power of prayers, and more importantly praying in alignment with Godś will rather than ours, gave me an epiphany moment.
The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
Psalm 34:19
In the two cooking series shared above. Both were run by nice people who cooked wonderful food for souls looking for creature comforts as well as emotional encouragement.
But the key difference was
The Midnight Diner was a one item dish(miso pork in cabbage) on its menu board, but the chef was willing, with his seemingly infinite repertoire of skills, to cook whatever his clientele desires, as long as he has the necessary ingredients.
The Izakaya Bottakuri had a daily dish for the day, though the clientele could order the usual regular items on the menu. But rare would many move outside the defined menu.
The wasabi must have got into my little junior senior brain, but the this analogy came to me
Are most of us like the clientele of the Midnight Diner, often going to God whose command for us is a simple one yet in all clarity - to seek and love Him, and love others as much as ourselves.
But we often prefer to proffer a variety of desires that we would pray that He answers rather than simply obeying His command.
奉神旨意(to obey the will of God)
Or are you like the clientele of Izakaya Bottakuri, who will, in the main, eat what is offered for the day or at least stick to the menu, much as the circumstances we find ourselves in are not aligned to our desire for the moment?
Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but Yours be done.
Luke 22:42
In submitting to God,
-with an attitude of gratitude
- with a heart set on pleasing Him rather than ourselves,
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 26:3
Our yielding will yield a wonderful life of total dependency upon Him, and allows us to truly experience the joy and peace that is no longer dependent upon our circumstances, for His grace is sufficient for the day.
For every dish of lifeś experiences, that our good Lord allows us to partake in is good, and it is prepare us for the greater feast to come.
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine - the best of meats and the finest of wines.
Isaiah 25:6
God indeed provides
Eng Hieang
3 Oct 2021
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