“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Psalm 98:4
“Don’t miss your blessings,” I told a dear young woman enduring an unimaginably tough trial. Certainly you have had your own share of trials, perhaps now. The message is we shouldn’t miss the blessings we have from God daily no matter our challenges. Yes, in hard places, God showers us with blessings. How easily we miss them if we are not careful.
Our greatest blessings are the Lord; forgiveness; a forever relationship with God when we repent and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, turning our lives over to God and His ways, devoting ourselves to Him and to living for Him; the Spirit of God living in and through us and leading us through life when we receive the gift of Him and are continually filled with Him and yield to Him; and the Word of God, the Bible, God’s voice, His way of life and instructions for following Him. Then we have all His spiritual blessings through Christ, love, hope, mercy, compassion, peace, freedom, purpose, etc. And daily provision such as food, clothing, shelter, etc. All of this, so infinitely great as it is, is but the beginning. For His blessings are never-ending, whether they be sunshine, the ocean, sunrise, birds, dogs, nature, grandparents, families, kids, laughter, sports, hobbies, travel, relationships, etc. How I could go on! Even for those who suffer immeasurably, who have so very little materially, His forever love, a friend, hug, smile, letter of encouragement, reading His Word, worshiping alone, worshiping with others, on and on His blessings go. Even those whose lives are shattered by tragedy, whose houses and dreams are blown away by tornadoes, whose hopes are destroyed by someone’s infidelity, whose loved ones are unexpectedly taken, still, even when all we love that we can physically hold in our hands is gone, or held back, still we have when we follow the Lord Jesus Christ, the promise of forever with Him. Not to begin when we die, but now, intimacy with Christ, joy in Him, relationship with our Creator through Jesus, oh, how the blessings go on!
How easily we can be so weighed down, so distracted by, so torn up by our difficult circumstances we can’t see past them. But oh, when we shift our focus to the Lord and His Word, the privilege of being granted fellowship with the Lord of Lord and King of Kings, and when we focus on Him, then look around us, and in front of us, we begin to see, to appreciate, and oh, I pray, to be thankful for, all the ways He blesses us daily. Down to our next breath. I have spent too long mired in self, sin, pity, complaining, negativity, missing so much the Lord has bestowed in His gracious love and mercy upon me. I am awakening, to seeing how blessed I am. Are you? Let us awaken – and be thankful!