Text: Thessalonians 5:16-24
Memory Verse: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
The chorus of the hymn, “Count Your Blessings”, says:
Count your blessings name them one by one
Count your blessings, see what God hath done
Count your blessings, name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Not giving thanks or doing so only when things appear to favour us is ungodly. In all circumstances and positions we find ourselves daily, we should give thanks. The right attitude is to be grateful for what God has done and not
always thinking of what we would like Him to do. It has been said that an ingrate is a great fool.
Psalm 126:3 says, “The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad.” These include seen and unseen calamities that we have escaped. He forgives all our sins, including secret sins, and keeps us from unseen ravaging diseases, and much more. Even the devastations we experienced could have been worse. Oftentimes, we see material blessings as big things while we hardly reckon as spectacular intangible blessings such as waking up from sleep. We should thank God more for the unseen things which have eternal impact such as the salvation of our souls, sanctification, spiritual growth etc. It costs God more to provide the unseen blessings and guarantee success for us in all our undertakings than the material blessings which we can count. David’s example of constantly praising God is worthy of note (Psalm 34:1). We should emulate him.
Prayer Points:
1. Father, thank You for redeeming my life from the pit, and crowning me with loving kindness and tender mercies.
2. Help me, Father, to always count my blessings one by one and give thanks to You for all You have done for me.