Count Your Blessings…

It is easy, particularly in our current personal and political reality, to fall into the habit of complaining. To be sure, I am not only talking about other people. As Paul describes himself as “chief among sinners” In 1 Timothy 1:15, I can be honest enough to say that at times, I am chief among complainers. 

I do not deny that there are plenty of things that we could complain about, but the Bible exhorts you and me in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

For this reason, I have always loved the hymn, “Count Your Blessings.” This hymn names the reality of trials and tribulations--the things we could complain about, while also naming that we have more to be grateful for than to complain about. I am especially drawn to the first and X verses:

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.

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. 

So as we approach Thanksgiving, despite our current reality, I invite each of us, as the song says, to “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.”

Growing in Christ

Pastor Donna Olivia Owusu-Ansah