Count your Blessings

Monday

Isaiah 63:7  I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, because of all that the LORD has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 8  For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely"; and he became their savior 9  in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

As I read the words of Isaiah 63:7 I am challenged to ask of myself: how often do I give thanks for the blessings in my life – and how often do I complain about the things that do not go my way. I ruefully answer that it is easy to allow ‘complaints mode’ to overshadow the gratitude for my life. So here is my invitation: let us choose to “recount the gracious deeds of the Lord” as a spiritual discipline for this week.

Song:

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Refrain:
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.

Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1897

Sixth  Sunday of Easter

Chosen by God

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 173.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.