Count Your Blessings

Blessed be the God and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed

us with all spiritual blessings in

heavenly places in Christ.

Ephesians 1:3

It's a hymn we have sung through the years, but often a hymn we sing casually with little thought of the words. It's a very familiar hymn that most of us could sing the first verse and chorus by memory. The hymn is, “Count Your Blessings.”

This hymn was written by Rev. Johnson Oatman, Jr. in 1897. He was a bi-vocational Methodist preacher. From the time of his childhood, Rev. Johnson could remember his father singing various hymns with the family. What a wonderful memory. Probably as a result of his father's influence and the leading of the Holy Spirit, Rev. Johnson wrote at least 5,000 hymns in his life. He wrote the words for “Count Your Blessings” while Edwin, a traveling singing teacher wrote the music.

This hymn became so popular in England, and sung so often that it was said that men sang it often through their daytime responsibilities, boys whistled it and mothers rocked their babies to sleep while humming it.

The words are meant to encourage, but at the same time does not cover up the fact that we do go through the most difficult of circumstances at times. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:19:

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs, singing and making

melody in your heart to the Lord.

In most congregations I have been a part of, it has been so obvious in recent days and months that we have lost our song. Very few people seated in church pews these days are people who take part in congregational singing. Some look around casually, focus on a window or just stare into space. Are we Christians losing our song? We certainly have much to sing about with all God has poured into our lives. I think it was Charles Wesley, that great Methodist minister and hymn writer who said: “Every Christian should personally own two books...a Bible and a hymn book.” He felt we should be singing people, not just in church but in daily living.

Lets look briefly at the first verse and chorus of this wonderful hymn that was written over a century ago but that still is more than appropriate in our own day:

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,

I think it's very interesting that this phrase puts it out in the open that life will toss us about. To think we won't be affected negatively by our world is foolhardy. There are days when we will feel like we're tossed around like a boat on a stormy ocean. There have been days I have felt like that.

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

The writer doesn't begin this sentence with “If” but with “When.” Discouragement comes from any number of sources. We can get to the point of feeling that life is hardly worth living. We live in a day of much frustration, feeling there is no hope and wondering if our culture as we have known it has no positive future to anticipate. We've all felt those things in these very days.

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

Then, all of a sudden, the climate of this hymn changes. We are told that despite the first two lines of this hymn, to think of life in a positive way. Not only are we told to count our MANY blessings, but to be specific...to name them as best we can remember them...one by one. I think how often I've prayed to my Heavenly Father, “Thank You for all Your blessings in my life.” Now that I think of it, that's almost an insult. I should be specific in my own mind as well as in my praying. I know there are too many to count in one sitting but I can do what I can every day.

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Wow...in that process of counting, I'm going to go through a mind blowing period of time. Counting one or two blessings may be good but when we stack them up, we'll be astounded as to God's goodness in our lives, all He's done.

                                                                CHORUS:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Don't count in generalities, but don't labor. The Holy Spirit has a wonderful way of bringing these precious things to our minds but we should be as specific as possible.

Count your blessings, see what God hath done;

When we do this meditation of thanksgiving, we'll see clearly God's benefits and blessings in our lives. This kind of thanksgiving isn't just for that one day in November when we eat turkey and dressing.

Count your blessings, name... them... one... by... one,

There is a reason this phrase is repeated. We repeat things of importance and meaning. I had never noticed in this hymn where I should name God's blessings in such a specific manner. By the way, this becomes very difficult if we don't count these blessings with some frequency. It should be a daily procedure, not out of obligation but out of gratitude.

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

In our counting process, the wonderful result will be that we can see with our own minds and hearts just how wonderful God has been in our lives. These things might be good things for us to date and write down in a journal. On some of those tempest tossed days that we face, pulling that journal out to read of God's goodness and faithfulness can be a wonderful encouragement...almost like reading old love letters or notes from friends.

I'm determined to work this into my own devotional life. I never want to be ungrateful toward the One I love more than anyone or anything else.

Lord Jesus, I have been so negligent in my gratitude toward You for all of Your goodness in my life. You bless me more than I can count and I often give so little thought to those answers to prayer as well as the special touches You bless me with over and over. I love You. Amen