“How much longer?” Tears rolled down my face as I cried out to God in frustration. Our house had become too small for our growing family, and our financial lack had taken its toll on me. Through the pain of my seemingly hopeless situation, I opened my Bible, and the Lord led me to the children of Israel. They had already been delivered from Egypt; they had already crossed over the Red Sea; and here they were in Marah murmuring and complaining to Moses that they do not have anything to drink (Exodus 15:23-24). In that moment, my tears of pain quickly turned into tears of shame as I realized I was no different from the children of Israel. All my life, I had been somewhat annoyed with the children of Israel. How could they murmur against God after all he had done for them; and yet, here I was doing the exact same thing.
The Bible tells us not to forget what God has done for us (Psalms 103:2). From the moment we wake up, we are loaded with blessings; unfortunately, we are so busy focusing on what we want and lack that we seem to forget, or become blinded, to the blessings we possess.
That day was a turning point in my life. I realized I had forgotten the promise of God in Malachi 3:10, when he challenged us to see if He will not pour us out a blessing so big that we will not have room enough to receive. I was so blinded by my tears I missed the fact that this very promise was coming to pass in my life. I was living Malachi 3:10; we were so blessed that we had no more room to receive! I asked God to forgive me for becoming like the children of Israel – murmuring and complaining about my blessings, and I opted to start counting them instead.
Have you been blinded by your tears? Have you been complaining to God? If so, ask God to change your perspective. Ask him to allow you to see things like He does, and watch your disappointments disappear.
I will end this with a portion of a song by Johnson Oatman Jr. written in 1897.
When you find yourself losing hope and frustrated about your situation, when you find yourself blinded by your tears, remember these words:
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
