Thank you for more blessings than I can count

10 of the Best Ways to Thank God – Counting My Blessings

You and I know God wants us to thank and praise Him but I sometimes wonder if I’m thanking Him the ways He wants.

I start my prayers with thank you and praise Him for who He is and what He does but are words enough.

David wrote:

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Psalm 50:14

Honestly, words don’t feel much of a sacrifice. I can say “thank you” so easily and then just as easily go back to living in ways that don’t seem very thankful.

What does thankful living look ? Thankfulness that is sacrificial? Thankfulness that is God’s will and pleases Him.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:20

I wonder (you know I do that a lot) . . . maybe there are ways to thank God that go beyond simply speaking words. Ways to live with gratitude even when I don’t feel thankful for my circumstances.

Obey Him

If you add together the verses with the word “obey” and those reminding us to “listen” it’s close to a thousand.  Faith leads to obedience as we thank God for the amazing gift of life in Jesus.

Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus. Colossians 3:17

Worship Him

Remember worship is…

Taking your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. (Romans 12:1)

We were made to worship – to thank and praise God, the One who loves us and gives us all we need for today and for always.

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping Him with holy fear and awe. Hebrews 12:28

Thank Him with music

Make music. Sing praise. Music gives our thanks and praise emotion. So, make that “joyful noise” at home, in the car, at church . . . anywhere. Turn up the tunes and give thanks.

And each morning and evening they stood before the Lord to sing songs of thanks and praise to Him. 1 Chronicles 23:30

Pray to Him

You pray and begin your prayers with words of thanks and praise. But let’s go beyond “thank you for all You do for me.” Let’s be specific. Naming God’s past provision and help not only thanks Him it can help prevent worry and fear.

Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. Philippians 4:6

Love and Care for Others

This is stewardship. Using what God has given us to bless others. God’s love is unfailing. His care is personal. You and I have all we need to love and care for the people around us.

Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace. Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. Anyone who serves should serve with the strength God gives so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10–11

Surrender Everything to Him

It’s hard to offer everything, isn’t it? It needs an eternal perspective and I so easily get caught up in what’s right in front of my face. Trusting God and surrendering everything to Him . . . that’s thanksgiving with faith.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Romans 12:1

Tell People about Who He Is and What He Does

Tell your story. You’re a changed life, tell people about it. Tell them about forgiveness and freedom from fear . . . about love, hope, and joy. Thank God by telling others about His awesome blessings.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. Psalm 9:1

Trust His Will

Trust is reliance and confident expectation. Thank God for past blessings by trusting Him with your future. Follow where He leads. He has a plan and that plan includes you. Trust His love and follow where He leads.

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. Psalm 28:7

Be Joyful

Joy is contentment and satisfaction. Finding joy in God says that He is enough, that you and I are content and satisfied in Him. 

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Philippians 4:4,6

Make Everything You Do and Say an Offering of Thankfulness

God loves you. His goodness and mercy cover you. Pay attention. Count your blessings. Live with gratitude. Make your life an offering of thanks in response to all God has done for you.

May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:11–14

Oh, how I wish I didn’t get so caught up in myself. Maybe you wish that too.

I want my life to show that my is heart full of thanks.

I want to join David and say…

I trust God’s love forever and ever. God, I will thank You forever for what You have done. With those who worship you, I will trust You because You are good. Psalm 52:8–9

And with God’s help I will.

Will you pray with me?

Father, Thank you for your countless blessings. Because of Jesus, Your grace and mercy cover me every day. Your love surrounds me. May my life be an offering of thanks for who You are and all You do. I love you, Lord. I trust You. Help me obey and follow wherever You lead. In Jesus name. O pray. Amen. 

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Источник: //countingmyblessings.com/best-ways-thank-god/

Count Your Blessings…Literally

The phrase “count your blessings” has always struck me as cheesy and horribly insincere. People seem to break it out at the worst times.

When someone tells me that a water pipe burst in his basement and ruined half of his worldly possessions, he doesn’t want me to tell him that it could be worse and that he should count his blessings.

He wants me to tell him about a good Christian missionary plumber who feels called to do all his work for free. He wants me to say, “I happen to have this entire week off from work, so I’ll be over every night to help you clean up.

” When I say, “Count your blessings,” he probably feels saying, “How about you count my blessings, and while you’re doing that I’ll go take some of your blessings.” I’ve never been a fan of telling people to do a blessing count, particularly when their lives are falling apart.

More Than We Can Count

But in recent months my perspective has begun to shift. I’ve started to realize that I’m rich beyond most people’s wildest dreams. That I enjoy more material blessings in one day than most people enjoy in a lifetime. That for reasons I can’t explain, God allowed me to be born in one of the richest countries in the world and to enjoy its benefits.

If I had received the blessings of the gospel and nothing else, I would have enough to be content for eternity. But I’ve received much, much more.

Discontentment happens when I don’t have what I want. Contentment happens when I realize that I have so much more than I deserve.

Contentment happens when I realize that I have so much more than I deserve.

So for a few moments, let’s put all our desires on hold and ponder the great mountain of blessings that we already have.

James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” We have received so many good gifts.

Let’s stop obsessing about what we want and start marveling at all that God has given us.

Giving Thanks: A Matter of Perspective

Compared to most of the world, I’m a king living in a palace. I’m surrounded by luxury. I have more than I need, more than anyone needs. And I still can’t figure out why God has blessed me.

Why do I have these blessings and most people don’t? Why is my little girl healthy when many little girls are so weak from malnutrition that they can’t even stand? Why do I have clean water that isn’t full of horrible parasites? Why is a broken bone a minor inconvenience for me and a catastrophe for someone living in Africa? I can only come to one conclusion: God has been very kind to me. And I can only see one appropriate response: gratefulness to God.

I want the kind of gratefulness to God that creates contentment in my heart. I may not have everything my heart desires, but I have more than most people desire, and I have infinitely more than I deserve.

I have a computer that occasionally goes spastic. I have access to health care when my normally healthy body gets sick. I throw things into the garbage that people in other countries would treasure.

The blessings I’ve received leave no room for complaining in my life.

The great Puritan Matthew Henry was once robbed of his wallet. After pondering the incident, he wrote the following words in his diary:

I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed.

Being held up and robbed probably didn’t rank high on the enjoyable experience scale for Matthew Henry. But rather than give in to the temptation to complain, he paused for a moment and took stock of all that he been given.

He had never been robbed before. He was still alive. They took all he had, but it wasn’t very much. And by the grace of God he was the one being robbed and not the other way around.

Matthew Henry counted his blessings, which in turn stopped him from complaining.

“All this, and Christ too?”

While preaching a sermon, Charles Spurgeon said, “I have heard of some good old woman in a cottage, who had nothing but a piece of bread and a little water.

Lifting up her hands, she said as a blessing, ‘What! All this, and Christ too?’” The old woman understood that in Christ she had everything and that everything in addition to Christ was pure blessing.

I have far more than a piece of bread and a little water.

Every time I step into the shower or enjoy a cup of coffee or watch a football game, I want my heart to be singing, “All this, and Christ too?”

Stephen Altrogge is a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, Pennsylvania, where he leads worship, preaches, and works with youth. He has written several worship songs for musical projects produced by Sovereign Grace Ministries and is the author of Game Day for the Glory of God and The Greener Grass Conspiracy.

Источник: //www.crossway.org/articles/count-your-blessings-literally/