This was one of the hymns that was sung for our last worship service at church before the pastor asked us to share our testimonies on how God has demonstrated His steadfast love and His faithfulness towards us for the year 2023. There was a time limit of two minutes per person so that more people would be able to testify to the amazing grace of God in our lives for the whole year round.
The chorus of the hymn goes as follows:
Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your blessings;
See what God hath done.
Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings;
See what God hath done.
The hymn was timely and appropriate as a precursor to set the tone of our testimonies. We should indeed count all of our blessings to see what God has done for us in the year 2023. And, as we count each of our blessings, we should express our heartfelt gratitude and awe-inspired adoration to God from whom all blessings flow and to whom all glory belongs.
Two minutes will never be enough to count the innumerable blessings that God has bestowed upon us for the past year and to praise Him for it all.
An hour will never be enough to praise the Blesser for the blessings.
A day will never be enough to adore the Giver for the gifts.
A lifetime will never be enough to exalt the Benefactor for all the benefits.
A thousand lifetimes will never be enough to thank the Helper for all the help.
Time is so limited to express our heartfelt gratitude and overflowing praise to our heavenly Father, Christ our Savior King, and the Holy Spirit our Helper. That is why eternal life is promised to all those who would turn away from their sins and trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior because eternity is the only period that transcends the limited restraints of time that could logically make proper sense of the fulfillment and satisfaction of the eternal weight of our heartfelt gratitude towards God. The ache in our hearts regarding the limitation of our time to praise Him for all the things He has done for us points to something deeper and greater – the reality that we are made to praise God for all eternity.
Praise God that eternity is promised for those who believe! Praise God that it is not just eternity that we are yearning for but the God who holds eternity in the palm of His hands in whose presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand is pleasures forevermore. (Ps. 16:11) The majestic Beauty makes eternity unfadingly beautiful. The greatest Treasure makes eternity highly valuable. The supreme Satisfaction makes eternity very pleasurable. The ultimate Joy makes eternity deeply delightful.
And with one heart, we continue to exalt God with king David and say, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Ps. 73:25-26)
As the year 2023 came to a close, we were just awestruck of God’s multifaceted grace that comes to us in all shapes and forms.
Praise God for His saving grace which assures us of eternal life with Christ, sanctifying grace which assures us of progressive holiness through the help of the Holy Spirit, sustaining grace which assures us that He who began a good work in us will faithfully finish what He started, strengthening grace which assures us that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength, solidifying grace which assures us that we would be more deeply rooted in God as years pass by, satisfying grace which assures us of unending refreshing of our souls by our sole Satisfier, and sufficient grace which assures us that we have everything we need from God.
“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)
By grace alone 