Count Your Blessings

Photo by Tanner Yould on Unsplash

When you were a kid and had trouble sleeping, did your parents ever tell you to count sheep to help you fall asleep? I don’t actually remember my parents telling me that per say, but I have heard of that saying since I was a little kid. And, I recollect trying to count sheep to fall asleep.

Fast forward to being an adult. Well, first, allow me to take a minor side-step. I LOVE old movies. I can sit and watch TCM for days on end. The movies from the 1940’s and 50’s are my favorite. There is just something about old movies that speak to me in a way that current ones don’t. Anyway, one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies is White Christmas. In it, Rosemary Clooney sings this beautiful song called “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep.” Now, maybe you can see where I am going with this.

As we enter into the month of November, the month in which we set aside one day as nation to give thanks, I think it is the perfect time to remind each of us that we should be thankful to God and counting our blessings each and every day. (And, I mean each and every day of every year—not just on Thanksgiving Day or for the month of November!)

God gives us so many amazing and wonderful gifts each and every day. Many of these gifts are simple things that we take for granted and often forget about. The gift of life, the gift of being able to get out of bed, the gift of having a bed, the gift of a gorgeous sunrise and/or sunset, I could go on and on.

In your Christian life, have you ever heard, “Seek the Giver, not the gift?” That is to say, we should be seeking God, not what God gives us. I certainly agree with this sentiment. We should be seeking God. We should be seeking God as much and as often as we possibly can. However, I learned a new saying just yesterday that I think we should all take to heart, that is a step above this statement. This new maxim I came across is, “Seek the Giver through the gift.” (I must give a shout out to Randy Alcorn and his Bible study “Happiness” for this little gem.)

Isn’t this just an extraordinary way of both seeking the Giver and of being thankful for the gift? I think it is! The example that Randy gives is that of a delicious meal. As we enjoy the meal, we can be thanking God for the ingredients, the hands that prepared it, and our taste buds for being able to taste it. These are all gifts from God! And, these are all things we should be thankful for!
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In Psalm 50:23, Jesus tells us, “Giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors Me.” However, I don’t think that giving thanks is a sacrifice. On the contrary, I see this as an easy way to honor God. Especially when you compare it to what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross for our sins. Giving Him thanks for His gifts is the least we can do.