As a young teenager, while I was going through a dark time in my life, my mother came home from work to find me in tears. I don't remember exactly what I had been upset about or much of what was said, only that I was terrified, anxious, angry, and confused. I was in the midst of a spiritual battle in my mind, one that could only be won through God's help. Near the end of our conversation, my mother asked me to write a list of blessings - all that God had given and done for me. Here is what I came up with:
1. Himself - "For He is our peace, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us...And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby...For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father...Now therefore are ye no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."
2. Making it so simple to come to Him - "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." "For whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
3. His promise to never leave me. - "I will never leave You, I will never forsake You."
4. His promise that nothing can separate us. "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, or any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."
5. The wonderful Holy Spirit - ["Jesus] in Whom you trusted, after that ye heard the truth, the gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory." "For we know not what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered." (I also noted that the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin in a gentle way, that focuses on the resolution to the problem.)
6. The Bible - "For all Scripture is God-breathed, and useful for teaching." (I noted that when I read the Bible, no matter what is confusing or bothering me, eventually vanishes, as Jesus guides me to the right verses.)
7. Jesus, and His wonderful role in my life as my forgiveness. - "If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
8. The promise that He will not give up on me, and will keep working on me. - "He will not forsake the work of His own Hands."
9. Angels - "He will give HIs angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone." (I wrote that sometimes when I'm afraid, I'll ask God to show me the angels that surroun me. I never actually see them, but I have a peace and I know that they're there with me.)
10. Victory over Satan - "For greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." "Beloved, test the spirits. For what spirit confesseth that Jesus is come of God in the flesh is of God, and any spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is come of the God in the flesh is not of God. It is the spirit of the antichrist, which is already in the world. You, being of God, have overcome them,
for greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world."
11. His promise that He will give me what I ask of Him. "And this is the confidence in approaching God: that if we ask anything in His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, then we know that we have what we've asked of Him." "If a man asks the Lord for wisdom, and does not believe He has given it to him, he...is tossed about in all he does." (I also wrote that, when I was asking God for peace, etc., it always helped to say "And I believe I have it," or, "I thank You for doing that for me.")
12. His promise to keep me on track. - "The Lord admonishes whom He loves."
13. His promise to be near me. - "Come near to God, and He will come near to you." "The Lord is nigh unto those of a broken heart, and contrite spirit." "Where will I go from thy presence?"
14. His promise that He has a plan for me. "Thou has beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me."
15.
I left the last one blank. God took my broken heart and transformed it as He brought these fundamental truths to my mind, and guided me to the right verses as I randomly flipped through my Bible. When we see ourselves and our circumstances in the light of His presence, things look much differently. When we let go of our sin, inhibition, and guilt and let ourselves fall into the arms of a God who
really cares, we can find a reason to smile. Not a temporary, fading one, but a smile that is a result of the joy that bubbles deep inside, regardless of what may be happening around us.
I labeled this list - my mother's suggestion which has become one of my most treasured possessions - in big, curly cue, blue and purple letters and drew little dots and flowers around them. I wrote the letters so largely, actually, that I didn't have room for the "s" at the end that I planned, so it became, "My Blessing." I don't remember why number fifteen is blank. Maybe I was spiritually exhausted at that point. Maybe my mind was overwhelmed with all of God's incredible attributes. (I know my list doesn't even begin to cover all that He is.) Maybe that blank space represents everything I don't yet understand about Him...those "fathomless billows of love" and unsearchable ways.
When I read this collection of truths, I'm filled with the unspeakable peace and joy from knowing Him. I'm reminded that no matter what dilemma I'm facing, big or small, the Creator of the universe has me under His wing. The God of Heaven, so glorious and indescribable, cares about me, here, right now, as I'm sitting in my room bemoaning the fact that nothing seems to ease my sore throat. He can percieve what's going to happen, and prepare me for it. He made butterflies. Isn't that grand?
He loves me.
That is
your blessing, too.
