Count Your Blessings rather than Sheep-Psalm 66

                In the church I attended as a child we used to have an old fashioned hymn sing and testimony time every 5^th Sunday for the evening service.  My cousin, Barbara, always had a testimony to give.  I remember one testimony she gave vividly.  Barbara lost her first born child at a very young age.  Her life was marked in some ways by the grief over this deep loss.  She shared that testimony on this night as an introduction to one of her favorite hymns.  You see, like the Psalmist of Psalm 66, Barbara found comfort in her grief by stopping to count her blessings.  When she couldn’t sleep at night, instead of counting sheep she would start counting her blessings.  When she was plagued with the question of where God was and why God had allowed her young son to be taken from her, she remembered the times that God had been with her.  So, she loved to sing “count yourmany blessings name them one by one.  Count your many blessings see what God has done.  Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your many blessings see what God has done.”

                The Psalmist of Psalm 66 did the same thing.  He calls us to “Make a joyful noise to God and sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!” (vs. 1-2).  Verse 5 proclaims:  “Come and see what God has done:  he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.”  Then he begins to list ways God has been victorious and present. 

                Next time you lay awake at night plagued by the questions of life, instead of counting sheep, begin to count your blessings. Remember what God has done in your life. Remember the times that you were keenly aware of God’s presence.  God is always with us. God never forsakes us.  Thanks be to God.