Count Your Blessings

There is an old gospel song called Count Your Blessings. Part of the chorus says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God has done.”

In this Thanksgiving season, we are reminded to celebrate and give thanks for our many blessings. The Bible has a lot to say about giving thanks. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) it says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

I start most every morning with a cup of coffee and a prayer of thanksgiving. I don’t pray a generic prayer like, “Thanks God for everything,” and move on—I literally count my blessings. I thank God for my wife, our family, our church, our home, our vehicles, our friends, answered prayers, a good workout or good waves, my health, living in San Diego, and more. By the time I’m finished, I’ve got a spring in my step and I’m ready to face the world.

Did you catch the part in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 about thanking God in all circumstances—not for our circumstances? It would be kind of fake to thank God for the flu or the $1,500 bill you got from the plumber when your carpets were flooded by leaky pipes. I’m sure God doesn’t want us to blame Him for things He’s not responsible for.

A number of years ago, my family and I took a vacation to Costa Rica. On day three of our scheduled ten-day vacation, I had a horrible surfing accident. With some good medical care and 33 stitches in the head, I was able to continue our vacation—but I couldn’t surf, and I was in a lot of pain. I wasn’t thankful for the accident, but I started counting my blessings. I thanked God that I was still able to be with my family and watch them have fun in a tropical paradise. It would have been easy—even natural—to get angry about the accident, but I chose to thank God for the blessings, not the accident.

In the last few years, I’ve experienced some difficult problems in trying to lead our church. There have been days when I was beyond frustrated. Sometimes leading a church is like herding cats—there are so many factors beyond my control. In those frustrating times, I can either pout or I can count my blessings. I’ve discovered that pouting doesn’t accomplish anything, so I opt for thankfulness.

If things really take a downturn, I claim Romans 8:28 as my promise from God: “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.” Somehow, beyond even the worst circumstances in our lives, God is working things out for our good.

So what are you thankful for? Start counting your blessings and see what God has done. You might be surprised!

Stay blessed,

Steve