Count your Blessings... Not your Troubles

Count your blessings, name them one by one! Trials are going to happen. Jesus promised us that “in this world, [we] will have trouble”. It’s inevitable. Why, however, are we so quick to remember and wallow in our difficulties? We remember ever wrong word, deed, or action toward us, and hold grudges over the silliest things. We chisel these wrongs the walls of our stone hearts and grace or forgiveness is never applied: whether personally or toward others. Why do we not stay busy remembering the blessings of our lives? We have such wonderful things for which we can give thanks, and most of them are temporal: family, friends, home, jobs, etc. We ought to be thankful for these things, but even these are subject to change. We also have many things for which we can give thanks that are unchanging! Our Heavenly Father, Christ Himself, the Holy Spirit within, His Word, our Salvation and Forgiveness, mercies every morning, grace, and so on. When we spend our time remembering those things, we are less likely to remember the hardships. Even if we do remember the hardships, we recall them against the good that God brought about through those difficult experiences, and we are grateful. Remember the Lord, and give thanks.