Bless the Lord–10,000 Reasons to Praise God

Below is a list of the top 10,000 reasons to praise God (in reverse order):

10,000: You’re breathing today
9,999: The earth is inhabitable
9.998: Puppies
9,997:—-

Okay, this would be the longest post ever if I were to count up 10,000 blessings. I’m sure some would be left out and some would be repeated, but it will be very humbling to try to think of 1,000, let alone 10,000. Though, I don’t think it’s the number that’s important. Take a moment right now and think of the countless reasons you are thankful for. Now think of the countless things you SHOULD be thankful for. Take all the time you need. I can wait…

The Verse

I hope you did take the time to make a generous mental list. Maybe family, wealth, health, church, your job, your house, food on the table, your spouse, and coffee were on your list. Did you stop there? How can we not be thankful for 1000 times that!? Those are things that will change, fade away, or be replaced at some points in our lives. Hopefully, the church is pretty steady, but even your church home can change due to moving, work, or shifts in life situations. Let’s take a look at Psalm 103:

In Psalm 103, David is reminding us to not let a single blessing be forgotten. I just took a breath. I should be thankful. The toilet just flushed, I should be thankful! I have to pay $80 for my wife’s medication. I should be thankful that she can get the medication! Not only should I be thankful–I should also thank God. We should all thank Him constantly, but do we? Take a minute to listen to this song by Matt Redman.

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The Song

I love this song! It’s all about God and His name. It’s about God and His blessings. It’s a picture of us in light of Him. His love is rich and He’s slow to anger. Bless God for that! His Name is great and His heart is Kind. These are things that NEVER change, fade away, or are replaced. In all the new days that happen, in all the new times in our lives, He is always there and always in His character. That is 10,000 reasons in itself to be thankful!

But also, notice that blessings don’t stop in times of trouble. God doesn’t just stop blessing you when your life isn’t going great. David showed this a lot in his Psalms. If you read through them, you will see that he will often talk about being hunted, about hiding, about being oppressed, or something else that shows that his life isn’t too stellar at the moment. But, he ALWAYS turns it into praise. He was called “The Man after God’s Own Heart” pretty often.

This song does the same thing. Matt Redman sings about a new day when all things are great. He also says: “On that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come. Still, my soul will sing your praise unending.” What do you think about that? Can you praise God when you no longer have your life ahead of you? I pray that you can. I pray that you can and will. Your life is precious to God. He blesses you more than you know.

Thoughts?

What are ways that God has blessed you this week? What are encouraging words you can share with other readers? What scriptures and books help you be thankful? Please comment below.