Can You Find It?

Have you gone through a really dry time filled with hardship and testing?

I was chatting with a friend lately who gave me a great idea. She had helped someone through one of those hard times. This is what she proposed. “Somewhere today God has a blessing for you. See if you can find it?”

It may be hidden; actually, most probably, it is. Might be outside or inside. Might be a quick emotion or something lasting longer.

One thing that is for certain is that if you go looking for a blessing, you’re gonna find something.

Put On Your Lenses

A big part of the solution is just putting on your glasses. Glasses? Yes, all sorts of lenses help us see things we would otherwise miss, see things more clearly, right? Telescope lenses, regular reading glasses, a magnifying glass, or even a microscope all help us enjoy, and even marvel at, the previously unseen. That is the function and glory of lenses. Th(i)nkful lenses, or blessing glasses, do the same thing.

Unseen things become visible. Things we see come more into focus.

Yesterday was hard for me. I was sick and completely worn out, but getting on my “blessing glasses” proved helpful. I still felt sick and tired of being sick and tired, but here are some of the blessings I found:

• I made it through the day without throwing up
• We have a bathroom inside our house and didn’t need to go to an outhouse
• My precious granddaughter that I am watching took a really good nap
• We are home in our own house, and I can sleep in my own bed with our lovely duvet
• Singing Deuteronomy 31:8 to myself helped
• Reading the first chapter of Jonah, along with other believers online, gave me a great view of my amazingly powerful Creator
• Our paintings from Kevin Burrill were ready, and David hung them on our wall
• I could fall asleep early and had a good night’s rest feeling stronger when I woke.

See! I found eight blessings just like that.

Blessings In The Dark

My college roommate, Joy, and I had an encouraging habit that we did right before we went to sleep. We would share our blessing from the day. The lights were out and we just called it out in the dark. Maybe we had done well on a test or quiz, perhaps it was a care package that arrived, maybe it was a Bible verse or someone asking if they could pray for us. Perhaps it was just a smile someone gave us. So many blessings.

Count Your Blessings

Johnson Oatman deeply admired his father, who possessed one of the most powerful and beautiful singing voices in the community, and he desperately wanted to sing just like his father. But alas, God hadn’t given him that gift. He went into the business world instead.

In the marketplace, Johnson encountered a widespread spirit of negativity. He saw it even in the church. Johnson firmly believed that thankfulness and a dark, discouraged outlook could not coexist in the human heart. So, at age 36, he created a tool to combat negativity, envy, and self-pity. He wrote a poem … that was later put to music and became a famous hymn. Perhaps you know it?

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

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.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold.
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

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.

So, look for the blessing! Get your lenses on, to behold the big picture or the very small picture, and you will realize that there are so many, it is hard to count.