Count Your Blessings

A couple of years ago, I did something interesting. As the year began, I made a resolution to be thankful every single day of the year. I have to say the results were amazing!

You see, gratitude changes our perspective and outlook on life. It’s impossible to be thankful and negative at the same time!

When we choose to give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives, we are literally ushering ourselves into His presence. It fills our hearts with peace, joy and hope.

In fact, as I chose to be grateful, I noticed that having a thankful attitude has the power to turn around a perfectly lousy day!

We have so much to be thankful for in life. Even during the “storms” of life (especially during the storms!), we should make a decision to focus on God’s goodness and faithfulness.

We can be strengthened by God’s love, refreshed by His Word, and fully energized to press on in our journey of faith.

Instead of focusing on the negative—instead of constantly focusing on anything and everything that is not going as planned—we can choose to remember the good things He’s doing and celebrate.

So, what kinds of things can we be thankful for? I actually made a list, so I can frequently look at it and get encouraged.

Here are just seven of the things I am thankful for...

• God’s provision
• The love of my family and friends
• The privilege of teaching God’s Word
• The gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Being able to help people
• Clean water and good food
• All the beautiful things that God has created

I think we can sometimes read a message like this and think, Well, I’ve heard this before. I know I should be thankful.

However, I encourage you to take this message to heart and try it for yourself. You’ve heard the old phrase, “Count your blessings.” Well, it’s great advice! And it’s Biblical!

Take a few moments right now to thank God for His goodness, love and faithfulness. Then thank Him for a couple things in your life that you’re grateful for—whether it’s your family, your career, or even your cup of coffee in the morning.

Make a habit of being thankful. As I mentioned, I think it’s a great idea to keep a list handy to remind you of everything you have to be grateful for. You can even write yourself notes and put them around the house or at your office.

So much of our happiness has to do with our focus...what we’re dwelling on in our mind. That’s why when we put our focus on God and all of the great things He does for us, it breathes hope into our thoughts, moods, and our entire day.

When we give thank, we make God bigger in our eyes...and suddenly our problems seem smaller!

Do you want to make this day and every day better? then begin to count your blessings! As you do, your perspective will change, and you'll suddenly feel so much better about life.