When I was minister of Stevenston: Ardeer it was decided that we should put together our own hymn supplement. The idea was to bring together new stuff along with old favourites not included in the Church of Scotland hymnary. The congregation was asked to make some suggestions. Among the most popular was ‘Count Your Blessings’. Maybe you know it:
‘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.’
It’s a long time since I have actually sung it but I’ve quoted it often enough. It promotes a worthwhile spiritual exercise. It can be helpful in challenging times to remember the good things that have fallen to you in the providence of God. In these Covid-19 days people have told me how grateful they are for their gardens, for the good weather, for the kindness of neighbours, for the technology that keeps them in touch with family and friends. Often this is tempered with an awareness that there are people who do not have some or all of these things.
I am often struck by the timing of my stem cell transplant. When I was discharged around the middle of January it was with a warning to be careful about social contact especially as there was flu around. Only a few weeks later the shadow of Covid-19 fell which eventually led to my being directed to observe complete lockdown. I wasn’t too happy about that but then I began hearing about stem cell transplants and other cancer treatments being postponed indefinitely. What must that be like for patients? Talk about counting your blessings!
That always has to be balanced with some considerations. Counting your blessings can raise the spirits but that should never be allowed to exclude our concern for others who are struggling to find any blessings in life. In days of celebration we have to be sensitive to the experiences and feelings of those with little to celebrate. Surely that’s what Paul was getting at when he said: ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn’. (Romans 12: 15)
Also, being blessed in a particular way is not just a comforter in which to wrap your soul. If you have been spared a life diminishing experience, in modern parlance if you have ‘missed a bullet’, you have a responsibility to make the most of that. I am grateful to John C. Lennox for his booklet Where Is God In a Coronavirus World? (It’s only £2.99 on Amazon) Writing about a Christian response to the present pandemic he quotes C.S. Lewis who in 1948 addressed himself to the increasing anxiety over nuclear weapons:
‘ . . . the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things - praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts - not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.’
How do you react to that? For me, sometimes you need to hear a tough message like that. It helps me to believe that while I may be restricted in many ways the blessings that have fallen to me are an assurance that I still have a place in God’s outreach to the world. When Paul wrote to a number of Christian congregations that they should make the most of every opportunity ‘because the days are evil’ (Ephesians 5: 16) it was with the conviction that with the blessings they had experienced in Christ they could make a difference even in the worst of times. Not ‘huddled together like frightened sheep’ but confidently holding out ‘the Word of life.’ (Philippians 2: 16)
That old hymn ends:
‘So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.’
