Count Your Blessings
Here’s the problem.
Psalms 71:15 (KJV)
My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.
When[1] 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 has done
This hymn has been a blessing and encouragement to so many souls for so very long. I, myself, have been helped in my Christian journey by singing this hymn.
But I have to be honest. Most of the time, the encouragement is based on the song itself and not the application of it. It’s as if I can assume that the song’s writer has done it, and it was so. If he proves it, I don’t have to.
Here’s the problem. Without personally proving it, I have little to lean on in a hard time. If upon life’s billows, I am tempest tossed, and all I do is sing the song, I’m going to struggle. I will need to start naming my own blessings one by one when I am discouraged, thinking all is lost.
The Psalmist did that.
He discovered that the favors of God upon his life could not be numbered. I assume that means they could not be named, either.
Allow your experience with God to be so near that you can’t begin to name, let alone count His many blessings to you.
[1] Count Your Blessings, John Oatman (1897)
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
