When I was a little girl, I loved the old hymn “Count Your Blessings.” The song encourages those who are “tempest-tossed” and “thinking all is lost” to “count your blessings, name them one by one.” Years later when my husband, Alan, was discouraged, he would often ask me to sing that simple song to him. Then I would help him to enumerate his blessings. Doing so took Alan’s focus off his struggles and self-doubt and centered his thoughts on God and his reasons for thankfulness.
The book of Ezra describes God’s people facing overwhelming challenges through focusing on God’s power and provision. After they’d endured decades of captivity in Babylon, King Cyrus allowed the Jewish exiles to return to Israel to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1-2). Only a fraction returned (2:64). Despite their “fear of the peoples around them” and the great task before them, they rebuilt the altar and laid the temple’s foundation (3:3, 10). Then “with praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord” (v. 11).
If you’re discouraged or facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles, turn your thoughts toward God. “Count your blessings . . . and it will surprise you what the Lord has done,” and continues to do, for those who love Him.
How has counting your blessings helped you in a difficult situation? What are you thankful for?
Dear God, please help me to be grateful and praise You for who You are and for all You’ve done.
The celebration recorded in Ezra 3:10-11 is significant. After decades of captivity on foreign soil, God’s people were back in their homeland in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy: “I will . . . bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you . . . and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:14). Though the work ahead of them would be long and hard, the presence of the temple foundation (Ezra 3:10-13) was a visible reminder that God had kept His promise. When we’re discouraged and facing severe obstacles, we can pause and recognize what God has done. Gratitude for His faithfulness helps us gain momentum for the future.
