Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Wednesday June 15, 2011

Over the years I have met many people who had different gifts related to counting. One man could glance at a column of figures with 110 five figure entries and in a snap give the exact total. Another could glance over a vast field of grain and tell you exactly how many acres were in the field. My brother can walk around an 18 wheeler and tell with uncanny accuracy the gross weight. Dr. Tom Wallace can glance over a crowd of thousands and tell within a few people how many are in the building. Joyce, The Great Blonde, can drive by a house and announce the square footage. I can tell by flashing red lights behind me that I have broken the sound barrier on Main Street

The "poor man's philosopher," Eric Hoffer said:

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."

Most of us can count what we do NOT have, but forget to count the blessings, the people and things for which we should be truly thankful.

Years ago I often used song on the daily radio program called, "Thankfully." The lyrics celebrated the fact that living life with a thankful heart, counting our blessings is the way to really enjoy life. Somehow such songs do not proliferate even the Christian airwaves.

At a time in David’s life when everything had hit bottom, in order to save his life he pretended to be insane, escaped from Abimelech, and lived in a cave with outcasts. One of the keys to maintaining his own integrity and making a fantastic comeback was his statement in the midst of his revolting situation mentioned in Psalms 34:1

I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Two positives are dominant in this verse, "at all times" and "continually." Learning to trust the Lord in trying times, even times that try the souls of men, as well as in moments of great victory are keys to emotional, spiritual and mental health.

The idea of thankfulness, though I am no expert on the practice, impacted me several years prior to my conversion to Christ when a simple statement hit me head on. I don’t know to whom to attribute the saying, but I have never forgotten it.

"I used to feel sorry for myself because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet."

Are you any good at "Magic Arithmetic?" Go ahead, count em one by one.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2011 Use with Credit

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