Counting Our Blessings

“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called.”
EPHESIANS 1:18

Counting Our Blessings Eph 1:15-18

Burnt toast, spilt coffee, and wrinkled clothes. Some days feel destined to go poorly. Combined with life’s daily struggles—a sore back, an ailing spouse, a child with special needs who demands your constant attention—one can quickly spiral into despair and regret. Ever been there?

Paul could certainly identify with trying circumstances. He wrote several letters from prison, where he was in chains for preaching the gospel (3:1). If anyone had reason to complain, Paul did. He endured much suffering at the hands of those who hated the message about Christ. But rather than beginning his letter with complaints, self-pity, or blame, Paul counted his blessings. Paul’s list in Ephesians 1 is helpful for us as well. He praised God for spiritual blessings, our adoption as children of God, forgiveness, kindness, wisdom, understanding, an inheritance, and the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the promises of God. And that’s just a start!

From the beauty of creation to the beauty of friendships, our own lists of blessings could be positively overwhelming. There is an old children’s song that goes like this: “Count your blessings; name them one by one. Count your blessings; see what God has done.” That is a pretty good description of what Paul is doing here in the first chapter of Ephesians. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was that their hearts would “be flooded with light” (1:18). Why? So they could see through the darkness of life’s circumstances to find hope. So the next time gloom comes calling for your attention, count your blessings instead. The sun will surely break through the rain clouds, and joy will replace despair.