Counting

Gordon Crook

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Psalm 139:17-18
As we come to the end of the year, it is time to account for this year. We will soon be accounting for what we owe the IRS, or what they owe us. Businesses have to account for their profit and losses. Lots of counting to be done. Let us not forget to count our blessings.
I don’t think that we should spend a lot of time looking at the past, but sometimes it is good to look back so we can account for God’s goodness and mercy and grace in our lives. The song says; “Count Your Blessings.” I don’t think we need to “count” them, as it might be impossible. However, we should consider them to elicit praise to our amazing God. The idea of counting them is to indicate that they are numerous.
“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 in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” Psalm 40:5 We will never be able to account for every thought and blessing that God bestows on us, but it should not keep us from speaking of them and showing our gratitude. David was exceedingly grateful towards God. He recognized God’s many blessings in his life, and knew that he did not deserve even one of them. “My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know  not the numbers thereof.” Psalm 71:15.
It seems that we are often easily able to count our troubles and enumerate the trials that come our way. But, they pale in number compared to the blessings that God bestows. They also pale in comparison to the glory that God has prepared for us. “For I reckon  that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed  in us.” Romans 8:18
As you consider God’s goodness and all of the blessings that He has brought your way, I want to move your focus to the most important blessings that over shadow all others and make our troubles seem so insignificant. Read Ephesians 1:3-14, and most of the second chapter. Spiritual blessings far exceed the value of the natural blessings we receive.
I don’t intend to suggest that we should not be thankful for the natural blessings that we receive. However, we can often get focused on those, and then we can get disillusioned if they go away. The spiritual blessings that were purchased for us by the blood of Jesus are far more important, and also they are eternal.
Since we tend to spend time and effort to get and retain the natural blessings (sometimes forgetting that they are given to us of God), should we not then spend more time and effort laying hold of the spiritual blessings? Philippians 3:13-14.
So, count your blessings for this year, and give thanks to God for every one of them, but do not forget to give proper weight to the spiritual blessings that are ours, and to lay hold of them every day.