Count Your Blessings

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. -Psalm 100:4 NIV

I wish I could tell you that after reading this study, you won’t encounter any more messes in your life. But that’s simply not true. What I do hope is that after reading it, you will be better equipped than ever to deal with the messes, and experience God’s blessings right in the midst of them.

As we finish this study, I want to leave you with one of the most powerful lessons God has ever taught me. It literally has the ability to change our lives if we let it. I have mentioned that God will bless us in our mess if we do things His way, and if we truly want to experience the good plan He has for us, we cannot ignore the importance of a thankful attitude. Our lives need to be filled with thanksgiving. The more grateful we are, the more powerful our prayers are and the less access our spiritual enemy, Satan, has to our lives.

Even in the midst of our worst problems, all of us can find things to be thankful for. You may not like your job or some of the people you work with, but you can still be thankful you have a job. You might not like some of the things your employer does, but the situation could be worse. At this moment, you may be frustrated with your spouse, but there are probably lonely people everywhere who would gladly trade the loneliness of solitude for the inherent challenges of close relationships.

Philippians 4:6 (NIV) says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

When we are worried, God gives us the privilege of praying in any circumstances and making our wants known to Him. But He tells us to do so with thanksgiving. If we are not thankful for what we already have, we are not ready for anything else! Thankful people are humble people who don’t have an attitude of entitlement, but one of gratitude.

Being thankful isn’t just a good thing to do, it is part of every believer’s purpose. One of the questions people frequently ask me is “What is God’s will for my life?” I realize they are often asking what specifically God wants them to do as a career or in a certain situation, but let’s think about God’s will in a different way. The apostle Paul writes:

Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]. Do not quench (suppress or subdue) the [Holy] Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:18–19 AMPC).

These verses tell us that God’s will is for us to be thankful in everything, no matter what our circumstance may be. It doesn’t mean that you are thankful for your circumstances, but it means that you remain thankful in the midst of them, choosing to worship God for who He is despite what you are going through.

You’ve probably heard the old phrase, “Count your blessings.” It is terrific advice! Regularly taking inventory of what God has done for us releases new faith, hope and joy. It also breathes new life into our circumstances and relationships.

So, anytime you start to feel depressed or discouraged, start thanking God for the blessings in your life. It won’t take long and your heart will fill with gratitude, and you’ll begin to see your life and situation in a whole new way.

Adapted from the book Blessed in the Mess by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2023 by Joyce Meyer. Published by Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Prayer: “God, I want to live my life with a heart full of gratitude, starting today. Thank You for my life and all of the blessings You have provided—big and small. You have created me for a purpose, and I thank You for constantly working on my behalf to give me a great future. Fill me with an attitude of appreciation for all You have blessed me with and show me how I can be a blessing to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you enjoyed this study, “Where Is God in My Mess?”, we have good news—there’s even more! Check out the entire 12-day study by Joyce…and continue your journey of receiving God’s strength, peace and help in the midst of what you are going through.