How abundant are the good things that You have stored up for those who fear You, that You bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in You. Psalm 31:19
Dear Heavenly Father,
I praise You for all my blessings. Help me count them one by one. I have so many that it's hard to keep count! Every blessing I have is a gift from You.
I'm also blessed by the things I don't have. That’s because Jesus knows best and has my best interest. I trust Him. He knows what I need (in His perfect timing), protects me from what I can't see and what I don’t need (even if I think I need it), and gives to me abundantly at all times.
Counting my blessings helps me keep my eyes on Jesus. Every blessing I have is only to point me back to Him, The Giver of all blessings, so that I may worship, enjoy, and glorify Him. Help me to always be thankful for my blessings, but guard me against turning them into idols or the object of my joy and focus. May my worship and adoration be for You, Lord! Blessings come and go, but Jesus is forever. I pray that my joy is rooted in Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). All glory belongs to Him! In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.
Spiritual & Earthly Blessings
The Bible tells me that in Christ I've been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). Now that's a lot of blessings! To belong to Jesus is the blessing of all blessings, and infinite blessings flow from Him. I am spiritually blessed forever. Not only that, but I am earthly blessed too in countless ways. My family is my most treasured blessing of them all. I really "blessed out" when God planned my family for me, and me for them. Yet, even if I had no family or earthly blessings, I still would be rich and blessed beyond measure. That's because Jesus + nothing = Everything. It is well with my soul.
Christians! The Lord is always ready to bless His children. He wants to give us blessings, and He is waiting for us to ask Him in prayer. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, 7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11). And I believe Him so I'm going to keep asking, seeking, and knocking!
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him (1 John 5:14-15). I trust Him so I'm going to do just that, with confidence!
A Content Heart
Counting my blessings helps keep me humble, knowing that everything I have in life is a gift and can be taken away at any moment. The Lord has given; the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). I am to hold my blessings with a loose hand, knowing that Jesus, the Blessed One, holds me securely in His hand. When I continually thank Him, both in times of ease and struggle, abundance and need, it helps me learn to be content (See Phil 4:11-13 below). Contentment is a learned quality, cultivated in the heart over time, through renewing my mind in the truth (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23), by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A content heart is a thankful and praise-filled heart. A content heart guards against pride, which causes me to grumble and complain about my circumstances or look upon others with scoffing, judgment, and contempt. Ultimately, pride leads only to division, turmoil, and ultimately destruction. It's a killer. Humility leads only to contentment, love, and all other virtues. A content heart isn't so miserable in times of need that it loses sight and isn't so intoxicated in times of abundance that it loses balance. To be content is to be hopeful in the Lord, balanced in life, and at peace in my inner being because of the strong rock on which I stand, Jesus Christ. He is the source of all contentment.
To be content is to prove that I trust in God’s sovereignty and how He chooses to bestow His gifts on different people, in different measures, at different times. When I rejoice in my own blessings, I'm able to rejoice with others in their blessings too, which may be different or even “better” than my own. God knows what He's doing when He doles out His gifts, talents, and blessings to whoever He pleases, whenever He pleases. Unpopular truth statement alert - Nobody deserves anything good, including myself. It's all up to God with whom He blesses and when He blesses. Who am I to doubt or question His decisions or measure of grace for others? Scripture commands that I rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). And like all the rest, that command is not burdensome but simply another good way that leads me to joy, peace, and growing in Christ.
The Ultimate Blessing
May all my blessings ultimately remind me of who Jesus is and what Jesus did for me on the cross. May all the blessings I have point me back to Him. Jesus died on the cross to save me from my sins and rose again from the grave so that I may have eternal life in Him, by grace through faith. The ultimate blessing is to be chosen and loved by God before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5). The ultimate blessing is to be given the gift of repentance and faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). The ultimate blessing is to have eternal life and live and reign with Jesus forever. Jesus is the most magnificent blessing of all! He is the source of all blessings!
"Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done."
I will count my blessings one by one, starting and ending with Jesus, my Lord and Savior, the Alpha and the Omega.
Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:2
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned that in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26
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