Remember the old hymn “Count Your Blessings?” Here’s how it goes:
1 When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
2 Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, ev'ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by. [Refrain]
3 When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. [Refrain]
4 So, amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey's end. [Refrain]
Do you and I do that? Do we count our blessings? As a pastor I would often drive to appointments and use the time in my car to count all my blessings. I would thank the Lord for the car to drive, for the rubber in the tires of the car, for the fabric in the seats in the car, for the asphalt of the road to drive on (as opposed to a dirt road), for the telephone poles and wires which let us talk to one another, for the grass in the fields which feed the cows (who provide the steaks I love to eat!). You get the idea. Counting all the mundane things in our lives we take for granted. All those and so much more are God’s blessings to us. Because He’s a good Father, He lavishes us with good gifts!
God is the Giver of all good gifts. He deserves our thanks, doesn’t He? Ephesians 5:20 exhorts us to be “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” So, think about the little blessings God has given you as you gather this Thanksgiving. Big ones like your spouse, children, health, job, or house are great reasons to thank Him but what about all the little blessings He’s given you such as the wood and fabric for the chair on which you’re sitting, the tablecloth made from the fabric of His earth, the gorgeous centerpiece He grew for you, or the stove, oven, grill, microwave designed and built by men using the intelligence He gave them. The King James Bible declares, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1).
Every day should be Thanksgiving for we are the recipients of His love and blessings.
Irv