Day Twenty one -  Count Your Blessings

1 Samuel 12:24  Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

                  This verse has been a favorite of mine since my Bible school days.  When things become a struggle,  it is good to look back and see the blessings that God has given to you.  We have a picture in our bathroom that shares the words of the old hymn,  “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,  when discouraged thinking all is lost,  count your many blessings,  name them one by one,  and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” 

It shouldn’t surprise us to think about God’s blessings.  He has a great desire to give to His children.  He writes,

Matthew  7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

             If we who are evil love to give gifts to our children,  how much more does He love to give to us.  The Psalmist says,  “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation”  (Psalms 68:19).  It in not just big things. God DAILY LOADS us with benefits. 

           When we go through a dark time,  the darkness looms so large that we fail to see the blessings.  I have often said that it is like holding up a penny to the sun.  The sun is so much larger than the Penny,  but if the Penny is close enough to the eye, it will block out the light of the sun.   The same thing is true of problems.  They are not nearly as large as the blessings,  but if the problem is close,  very close,  it can cause us to miss the joy and blessing of God’s gifts.  

An Exercise to increase my Faith  -  Spend a few moments and write down some of the blessings that God has given to you in the past year,  the past month,  or the past week.  If you think about the blessings,   the problems will seem small.  If you can’t think of anything,  think of God Himself and the blessing of having Him in your life.   “Turn your eyes upon Jesus,  look full in His wonderful face,  and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,  in the light of His glory and grace.”