Count Your Blessings

In my experience, and considering of course that we are not cast from the same mould, I know that few things can bring me closer to God and faith in Him, than having gone through a patch of despair! Which can also find expression in a fit of anger. But after airing the storm within myself, and letting go of all bottled-up desperation, after I have returned to my Lord in humble submission to Him, and accepting His will for me – and of course reminding myself of all His promises locked-up in His Word – I once again can taste His nearness. His compassion for me as a human being who are so dependent on my Master, is then felt all the more stronger. Why? Because then I can experience His tender love, His deep understanding of what I am going through! Then I can accept Him as the great architect of my destiny and of course fully realizing that I may not be able to see every problem solved, I may not be able to receive His promised answer my way and time, yet, in submitting unto Him and His will, I can then bathe in His blessings, also the testimonies of those who have gone through the same ups and down, the same challenges, carrying the same anxieties, yet trusting God who has given us His Son, Jesus, as the ultimate example of perseverance and faith in Him (Heb. 5.7).

For what is man’s purpose in life? Isn’t it knowing his God and Jesus His Son whom He has sent to show the way to Calvary so that we may be washed in His precious blood and be renewed in spirit? (Heb. 9.14; 1 John 1.7). Isn’t there great comfort in knowing that we will have a perfect life when God’s promises will be realized at the Second Coming of Jesus (2 Thes. 2)?

My testimony I then emphasize : It is after the storm, and when stillness has again settled in, that I’m able to behold my Master and listen to His voice! For He has promised to remain with us until the very end (Math. 28.20)! It’s also then that the voice of the woman who gave birth to me, the precious soul who took hold of salvation on a day-to-day basis, clearly comes to me: "Count your blessings!" I can still see her, a human being yet a dedicated believer, taking note of every Biblical prescription directing us to God’s throne, yet her face often lined with worries and care! But she had faith steeped in perseverance and trust in God.

What a blessing to have had a mother who could draw attention to the Light-house when one has lost direction and was heading for the rocks! What a blessing if one has had a father figure who could nurture faith in a living God! Ordinary souls who too had to struggle for survival and "having accomplished all, still remained standing"! (Paul). But, more than anything else, what a blessing God has bestowed upon man to be a father, a mother, a child, an uncle, and aunt! But do we realize the impact of such blessing?

Isn’t it perhaps because we have forgotten our God-given blessings that the world has turned out to be what it is? And not so much a money-machine, a carnival of self-sought pleasure, than us not taking personal responsibility to wrench ourselves from our external affairs in order to be able to attend to our God-given blessings and core interests, our family, our friends, our prayer life, our very important relationship with our God and Saviour? It seems that, because we have forgotten to take what God has given us, Jesus and the Cross He so willingly carried for us, we have lost the ultimate dream, i.e. finding complete rest and happiness! Isn’t it because we have shunned the simplistic things in life that we have become so unreal? That we have to project a perfect image all the time, as if we are gods in control of our lives and of the globe, in stead of giving God His rightful place in heaven and on earth? It seems we are so busy trying to keep the world together that we neglect thanking God who is able to sustain the world!

We seem to be focussed on being in control, yet, do we ever take stock of our microcosmic world, the one God has given us to nurture so that we again can experience His wonderful mercy, grace and love? His good intentions, namely if we follow Him and His commands, then we shall live! We shall then know the meaning of abundant Life! And those who will have a good and upright standing with God, the so-called righteous, have the divine guideline, i.e. that they shall live by faith (The Prophet Amos)! And isn’t it faith we need more than anything, for faith can move mountains, faith can bring us back on track when all else has failed, faith can help us see God’s daily blessings and once we have started climbing the ladder we will know that acknowledging our blessings will fill us with such happiness that even if we lack material things, even if we have an unresolved problem, even if we have lost a child or a spouse, even though we are struggling with a terminal disease, counting our blessings will make our faith grow! Therefore faith IS attainable! And if we have taken the first wrung on the ladder, reading the Holy Book will take us to greater levels of faith and deeper levels of understanding! For this Book contains the record and blessings of sound examples of faith culminating into perfect harmony and peace, the very spiritual blessings man so much need today!

Isn’t it time for us to reach for the simplistic things in life? Won’t we then realize that if God accepts us through His Son’s sacrificial love, and that we, for sure, will then be able to more readily accept ourselves just as we are! For God looks to man through eyes that were washed in His Son’s own blood! (John 3.16).

Isn’t faith in Him who was sent to impart authentic Life to man, the greatest blessing we can ever share in? And won’t He give us faith if we accept ourselves as human beings who can and does sin, yet also realizing that God has given us an opportunity to take what He is offering us: Peace beyond man’s understanding the minute we approach His Throne to shed our sins through the one blood-sacrifice that was needed to give us understanding, and cleansing our perception of prejudice and short-sightedness, making us see and taste the enormous blessings He has in store for us once we accept His ultimate Gift to man! Only then will the storm-stressed soul be able to thank God for the basic, simple things in life, the very things we daily take for granted!

Count your blessings name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done!

(Extract from Song 195, Gospen Hymns, a Collection of 400 English Hymns – Christian Publishing Company, Roodepoort, South Africa).

Dr Esther Blomerus is a Christian Teacher conducting Seminars on Abundant Life found in God’s Purpose for Man, i.e. getting to know His Son Jesus, Saviour of the world. You may email me at harvest100@linuxmail.org.