One of the things that the Lord continues to impress upon me is just how blessed I am. And this is not unique to me. We are all blessed, every one of us. Despite trials, despite trouble and despite our circumstances we remain blessed and loved by our Heavenly Father.
Most of us, the great majority I think, do not even realize how blessed we are. We have been blessed and so over time we forget that we don’t deserve life or love or material blessings of any kind. We have these things because God loves us and is a giver of good things, not because we are entitled to them.
Most of us expect to wake up in the morning. Most of us expect to be able to take our next breath. Most of us expect to have a roof over our heads, a peaceful existence, clothes in our closets and shoes on our feet. Yet despite our expectations all of these are gifts and blessings from a loving God that we tend to take for granted.
Just the other day I had a conversation with the Lord about my physical body. I turned 40 this year and have perhaps been a little more in-tune with my physical shape, my energy level and what effect my age is having on my everyday life. I realized that, by and large, everything works as it should and most of the time I feel pretty good.
If you stop and think about the massive complexity that is the human body and how many systems we have that are blended together and have to work in order for us to function and if you also call to mind how many folks we know that are physically struggling in some way and that have bodies that don’t work so well then it is no stretch to say that I am very blessed.
My feet can carry me where I want to go. My legs move and my knees bend. I can turn and stretch and bend over to pick something up off of the floor or stretch my arms over my head to grab something up high.
I can breathe. I can taste, see, smell, hear, touch and feel. I can eat and drink and my body can turn what I eat and drink in to fuel for living and working.
My mind is able to process information and perform rational thought. I can learn and I can use the gifts that God has given me to write and speak His truth and to teach and encourage others. All because God will’s it and because He has seen fit to love and provide for me.
And this is just a very small sampling of the many, many ways that God has blessed me.
What about you? Have you taken stock of your blessings lately? Have you thanked and praised your Father above for His provision and his awesome love? Do you have His most precious gift of all, His Son Jesus Christ who died for you? I hope so.
You’ve been blessed with today. You aren’t guaranteed tomorrow but if it comes then it will be a blessing too. What will you do with what God has blessed you with?