“God is good!”
“All the time”
I woke up this morning with Count Your Blessings running through my head. It’s been there all day. Have you ever tried to count your blessings? Have you ever tried to name them one by one to see what God hath done?
Christians, it’s easy for us to forget sometimes the source of our blessings. Sure, we thank God for our salvation. We thank Him for our family and our friends, but what about the rest?
When you get a raise at work, for example, you may get busy and quickly thank your boss. You may share the news with family and friends. You may celebrate!
Do you always remember to stop and thank God? He was the source of the raise and the job for that matter.
Look around you. What do you see? Do you have a home, a car, and food on your table? Do you have a cell phone? Do you have electricity? Do you have running water?
Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
Whatever you have comes from God. No matter how much or how little you have, God gave it to you. What He has given you is your portion. It is proper for you to be grateful for it. It is also proper for you to enjoy what God has given you. Recognize that all that you have is from God.
Are you satisfied? Do you covet what others have? Do you have to have one of those new fangled thing-a-ma-bobs too – even if you cannot afford it? This would seem to be an ungrateful position.
If you chase after that new fangled thing-a-ma-bob that you cannot afford, that will lead you into debt. You will be overreaching from what God intended to be your portion. Question. Can you really enjoy what God has given you if you are always worried about paying for it? Can you really enjoy your work if you are worried if you are going to get enough hours to pay for spending beyond your means?
Thankful and satisfied is the position for the child of God. Satisfied in the sense that you live within your means.
LIFE APPLICATION
Today’s challenge is to consider if you have stopped recently to thank God for all that He has given you. Have you tried to name your blessings one at a time? It’s easy to say, “Thank you God for everything.” What is everything? Everything does not always seem like so much until you try to name it.
Ask God to help you to have a grateful heart. Ask Him to help you be satisfied with what He has given you, and to help you make the most of those blessings. If need be, do pause and name them one by one. You might find you have more to be thankful for than you think!