Count Your Blessings

Many people are taught as children to give thanks at mealtime. Although this is good, we should also be taught from an early age to give thanks in all things. The giving of thanks is powerful beyond what we may realize. It brings many benefits to our lives and to the lives of other people. Gratitude to God makes our relationship with Him better, and expressing appreciation and thanks to others certainly improves our relationships with them.

In fact, we actually create problems for ourselves when we forget our blessings or begin to take them for granted because we’ve had them for so long. When this happens, we begin to focus only on life’s difficulties.

The story in Luke 17:11-19 gives us an idea of how few people take time to give thanks. In it, Jesus cleanses 10 lepers of the horrible disease of leprosy—but later only one returns to say, “Thank you.” I can’t help but wonder what happened to the other nine lepers Jesus healed. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but it is definitely food for thought.

When we do something for someone and they don’t even bother to acknowledge it with a “thank you,” we can feel like the gesture has fallen flat. I don’t do things for people in order to get thanks from them, yet it still feels as though something is missing when they do not express appreciation for what I have done. I feel like they are missing a blessing by “taking” or receiving something without acknowledging their gratitude. Perhaps they have never been taught about the importance of expressing gratitude. If not, it is never too late to learn.

If we actually pay attention to all that God does for us and count our blessings, it will definitely help us keep our mind off ourselves. Being self-centered and happy at the same time is impossible. I know, because I tried it for years. Thank God, He showed me that the less I think about myself, the happier I am and the more He will do for me. I don’t ignore my legitimate needs, but I do make an effort not to think I am the only person in the universe who matters.

Nehemiah 8:10 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Let me encourage you to begin to cultivate a culture of thanksgiving in your life by going through your day being thankful for every blessing you have, especially the tiny ones that many people tend to take for granted.

This will add joy and power to your life, and it will bring you closer to God. Thanksgiving is a type of praise, and the Bible says that we enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and come into His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4).

_{Adapted from the book The Power of Thank You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2022 by Joyce Meyer. Published by Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved.}