Count your blessings: name them one by one

Perhaps we all are aware of this hymn: Count Your Blessings. And, like many songs, perhaps we have never really paid close attention to the lyrics.

I do not have a very significant story to tell right now. Let me just say that I was thinking about using ChristianForums's blog section to start writing my own blog. And, as I was thinking about what my first entry would be about, I was listening to this hymn. I have lots of Christian music on my computer (the entire set totalises — I am not joking — over 1300 songs and 90 hours; I can literally listen to music for half a week non-stop!), and I let it keep on playing whilst I do something else online. And now, as I thought about what to write, this hymn popped up, and I thought perhaps it would make a good theme.

We, as humans, tend to see things negatively. This is a piece of truth I have always been taught, and it is true. For example, are you sick right now? It's unlikely you are. If you aren't, have you realised... that you are not sick? Wow! Do you have a home? If so, have you realised... that you have a home? Wow!

You get the drift. Now, isn't it so easy for us to forget these good things we have when we have them? We tend to only realise we used to be healthy when we get sick; we tend to only realise we used to be comfortable when we are deprived of comfort; we tend to only realise we used to be blessed when we lose those blessings.

I have always been taught to ‘look at the bright side of things’, and it is true. When we try to look into the bright side, we end up feeling better, and we realise that things aren't so bad after all! Things could have always gone worse, even if we do not see exactly how. Just learn to be thankful for what you have!

Every blessing ultimately proceeds from God; he is the one who gives us good things. Then, one might wonder, why does he bless some people more than others? Interesting question... We simply do not know; it is God who decides how he shall distribute his blessings, and we have no right to judge; as Paul put it, in Romans 9:20: ‘But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”’ However, we must recognise that God has a purpose and an excellent plan for us, who are his children, as he told Jeremiah, ‘“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”’, in Jeremiah 29:11; and, in Romans 8:28, Paul echoes this idea, writing, ‘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.’ If you are a child of God, he has chosen you to shower you with blessings unfathomable.

God comforts us when we are troubled. He can comfort us in many ways, and one of them is by reminding us of the blessings he has given us, because every blessing ultimately proceeds from God. Just after the greetings, Paul begins his second letter to the church of Corinth, in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, with these powerful words: ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.’ Ultimately, this is echoing what Jesus had said in Matthew 11:28, where it is written: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’

So, today, if you are tired, stressed, discouraged, sad, sick, hurting or just feeling bad, remember that God is there to comfort you: pray that he may comfort you, and ask him to help you look on the bright side and see the good things he has done for you. In other words, count your blessings, and meditate on the lyrics of this beautiful hymn:


May the Lord bless you richly and comfort you!