Several years ago a man named Alan Bryan wrote a little book which he entitled Climb Happiness Hill. It was filled with stories and ideas that included the theme of gratitude for the many blessings you might enjoy.
He told of one man who had once lost $10,000 in a failed investment. Whenever this man had an audience he would tell them about that one time in his life when he lost all that money. Mr. Bryan was present once during another retelling of his financial loss.
The man was taken aback when Alan told him, “You didn’t just lose $10,000, you have lost well over $1,000,000! You continue to focus on that one event, but fail to focus on the good blessings you enjoy each day.”
Are you like that man? Instead of counting your many blessings, do you constantly talk about that one bad event you’ve experienced? Alan instructs his readers to write at the top of a sheet of paper: “Blessings” on one side and “Troubles” on the other side.
Go ahead, try this if you dare. Really think about it. What are some of your very real blessings? Review what God has done for you. Which list is longer?
In spite of your belief about climate change, do you have enough to eat? Crops are being grown, fruits are still produced, and McDonald’s isn’t short on Big Macs. America still has abundance.
Is this a blessing to you? There are “Help Wanted” signs in so many towns and villages across America you’d think that everyone is working. Do you consider your job a blessing?
Our new President is bringing home the thousands of troops deployed to Afghanistan and other places. Unlike so many nations in the world, we in America continue to enjoy an interval of peace while the history of our world includes wars.
Jesus once said to His disciples, “See to it that no one misleads you…you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars, see that you are not frightened, for these things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:4-8).
Christians don’t worry about what the world is doing or thinking. They just keep counting their many blessings. Are you counting your blessings or your troubles?