The Overwhelming Wisdom and Joy in Counting One’s Blessings and Giving Thanks to God for Them!

13 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 Thessalonians 5:18.       In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

And though it’s a somewhat cloudy and chilly Sunday, this Thanksgiving weekend; it ought not to stop us from making our way joyfully to the Lord’s sanctuary to fellowship with other believers and give our wonderful God much praise and thanks for all He’s done for us down through the years. 

It’s as the psalmist declares: ‘O Come, let us sing unto the Lord” let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him with psalms (songs). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all Gods.’ (Ps. 95:1-3) 

And that’s the indisputable truth my people! So lets’ do as the psalmist advises and offer up sweet sacrifices of praise in a mid-tempo, scintillating, sincere, heartfelt and truthful version of this perfect Thanksgiving song, one we all know and LOVE, written by American hymn writer and pastor, Johnson Oatman Jr. (1856-1922), simply, but most appropriately titled ‘Count Your Blessings.’  

But before we sing, let’s ascertain what it means. In general, it means to be grateful for the good things in our lives, while it also often means to stop ourselves from becoming too unhappy about the bad things, which we ofttimes can’t do anything about. So now that we know, let’s sing up a storm this Thanksgiving Sunday! 

‘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.) 

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] 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] 

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: 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).’ 

Ah friends, one of our bad attitudes is that regardless of how many good things we have in our lives, we choose to dwell and agitate over the few negatives more than the many positives. But that’s exactlty the kind of attitude this song is attempting to turn us away from. As the chorus so wisely advises us: ‘Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings, see what God hath done;’ If we concentrate on the good things in life, rather than the negative ones, we will be ever so much happier and contented. 

Or as this commentary rightly reminds us: ‘If you always find yourself numbering your troubles, you will never find time for counting your blessings. There is no use becoming frustrated in your difficulties while you have all opportunities hiding in them for a turnover.’ That’s more gospel truth; for in our difficulties positive opportunities are always present. 

And the website www.godtube adds their two cents worth by reminding us that ‘God truly gives us so many blessings each and every single day. Some may even be so small that we might overlook them. The classic hymn ‘Count Your Blessings’ truly reminds us to stop and give thanks for all God has done in our lives. This is definitely a pause we all need to take. Amen.’ 

Now right in there is another serious matter on the topic of blessings. We tend to overlook the small blessings that the Lord bestows on us every day. They’re usually so small that we either don’t notice them or take them for granted, only considering the big things as blessings. But there again we’re wrong, for the Lord bestows many more small blessings on us than large ones, and if we just wait to number the large ones to be thankful, then we will be waiting a mighty long time. 

So, as of today, right now, let’s stop counting only our large blessings, but look with joy on the many small ones the Lord bestows on us every day. And if we’ll just take a moment to think about it, I’m sure we’ll all be able to come up with quite a few small ones that we’ve never paid any attention to. And the song gives us so many occasions on which to count our blessings: 

‘When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost… And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. –  Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?… ev’ry doubt will fly, And you will be singing as the days go by. – When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; … money cannot buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. – So, amid the conflict, whether great or small, Do not be discouraged, God is over all; … angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.’ 

Oh my fellow believers, just look at all the things we can defuse and reject by just counting our many blessings nuh! Why do we then allow life to make us so miserable and discouraged when we have the great and faithful promises of God, our Creator and Provider? That’s why Bruh Paul was able to write thus to the Thessalonians: ‘Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess. 5:16-18) 

And those are exactly the things God desires for us so that we can live the abundant life that Christ died for us to have starting right down here on earth. Much LOVE!

…count your blessings…pray…rejoice…and give thanks…that’s the Christian motto…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 March 2020 Psalm 40:5.

15 Mar 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 40:5.    ​Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up (recounted) in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
 
Well since the physical church is closed because of the Covid-19 scare, and we can’t gather together in physical worship, it looks like our li’l service here on the Bit has become even more important. (smile) But we can’t allow the Lord’s Day to pass without some form of praise and worship and hearing of His marvellous and life-giving Word. So let’s have church, and we’ll begin with a most appropriate song of praise in these tumultuous, disastrous, scary and panicky times. 

It’s an old favourite written by Johnson Oatman Jr. (1856-1922), a New Jersey born and bred, pastor/cum businessman. The story goes that ‘his father was an excellent singer, and it always delighted the son to sit by his side and hear him sings songs of the church.’ And no doubt that was a most important factor in the young Oatman eventually writing over three thousand hymns; ‘so that no gospel song book is considered as being complete unless it contains some of his hymns.’ 

Wow! Over three thousand hymns! And I looked at a partial list and there are a few well known ones. And that’s just another example of how important it is to get the Lord and His Word into our children at an early age if we want them to grow right. And all God’s children said a loud ‘Amen!’ (smile) But enough suspense, the name of today’s praise song is ‘Count Your Blessings!’ And oh, if many more of us would just do that, our hope, our faith and our world would be so much less wishy-washy, evil and strife-filled! 

But let’s concentrate on the singing nuh. Therefore, as one strong, harmonious, soulful and sincere voice, let’s raise our sacrifice of praise to heaven, letting them know that we are indeed grateful for ALL our blessings, those we enjoy down here on earth, and those stored in heaven. ‘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.) 

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] 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] 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] 2’ 

Oh my people, if we’d only stop a moment when times are rough, like they are now with the Corona virus, and count the many blessings with which we have been bestowed over the years of walking with Christ, as I said earlier, we won’t be as scared and panicked as we are. Yes, we will be concerned, but not thinking the worse! And I have some interesting words to share on the subject. First off, the basic meaning of Count Your Blessings. One dictionary puts it thus: ‘to be grateful for the good things in your life, often to stop yourself from becoming too unhappy about the bad things.’  

And is that ever so true; just like we ought to be doing right now so we can stop thinking about the bad things that are currently happening. Now hear this quote from the renowned African American Educator and Adviser, Author and Orator, Booker T Washington (1856-1915). ‘Those who are the happiest are those who do the most for others.’ And if you’re a true believer, then you know that’s gospel truth! Then there’s this from somebody, I’m not sure whom, (smile) but it certainly hits the nail on the head. ‘If you always find yourself numbering your troubles, you will never find time counting your blessings. There is no use becoming frustrated in your difficulties while you have all opportunities hiding in them for a turnover.’

 Oh friends, it’s time to stop counting our troubles and count our blessings instead, for within those same troubles are opportunities for us to overcome the troubles! And this last quote from the web site godtube. ‘God truly gives us so many blessings each and every single day. Some may even be so small that we might overlook them. The classic hymn ‘Count Your Blessings’ truly reminds us to stop and give thanks for all God has done in our lives. This is definitely a pause we all need to take. Amen.’ I couldn’t have put it any better my faithful brethren. 

And we find Bruh David doing it way back when in Psalm 40 – Praise for answered prayer, as he sincerely declares: ‘Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up (recounted) in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.’ How true my fellow believers. But sadly, we pay more attention to the problems rather than the blessings, that’s why our souls are always in so much turmoil. 

And please remember Bruh Paul’s marvellous words to the Ephesians re Spiritual blessings in Christ. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.’ (Eph. 1:3) Yes friends, lots of spiritual blessings have been granted to us when we became believers, but are stored up in heaven and are ‘being progressively dispersed to us on earth in accord with our need and Christian growth.’ 

And we’ll end, most appropriately with these wonderful words of warning and encouragement from Bruh David from Psalm 103 – Thanksgiving for God’s mercy. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits…’ (Ps.103:2) Then he goes on to list a whole lot of benefits we enjoy when we walk with Jehovah God through His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Oh friends, hopefully, today we’ll take these words seriously and diligently ponder them as we take account of our lives. Much LOVE!

…wisdom wisely cries out…count your blessings…not your troubles…