Too Many to Count

Reflection

There are some people who naturally seem to focus on the negative side of life. No matter how much good surrounds them, their attention is quickly drawn to what is wrong, what is missing, or what has gone badly. Then there are people like me. While I certainly see God's blessings, when I am facing a hardship or walking through a difficult season, it is easy for my mind to become fixed on the problem in front of me. Before long, I can lose sight of all the ways the Lord has already been so good to me.

The problem has never been that God has done too little; more often, the problem is that I have noticed too little.

Perhaps most of us find ourselves somewhere in between. We know God has been faithful. We can point to prayers He has answered and blessings He has given. Yet when life becomes difficult, our troubles often become louder than our memories of His goodness. We begin looking at what we lack instead of remembering all that God has already done.

The Lord has been teaching me something through those moments. I am learning to see His goodness in every part of my life. Psalm 40:5 reminds me why that lesson is so important. David does not simply say that God has done a few wonderful things. He says God's wonderful works are many. Then he goes even further by saying that God's thoughts toward His people are so numerous they cannot even be counted. If David tried to list them all, he admits they would be more than could ever be numbered.

A Faithful Father

What an incredible truth. His goodness surrounds my life in ways I frequently overlook. Every breath, every provision, every answered prayer, every moment of mercy, every act of His patience, every evidence of His grace is another reminder that He has been far better to me than I deserve.

Even Job understood this. Although he suffered beyond what most of us can imagine, he never denied the greatness of God's wisdom or the goodness of His works. In the middle of his affliction, he acknowledged that God's mighty deeds were beyond human understanding. His circumstances did not change who God is. Neither do ours.

A Promise Beyond Today

That truth has become a great comfort to me during this season of my own life. While I may not understand every hardship, I know the character of the One who holds my life in His hands. His thoughts toward His children remain beyond anything we could ever fully comprehend.

Even more wonderful is the future He has prepared for those who belong to Jesus Christ. God is not only caring for us today, He is carrying out His eternal purposes. Through Christ we have forgiveness, peace with God, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the sure hope of an everlasting inheritance. His plans for His people stretch far beyond this present life, and one day we will see the fullness of His goodness in His presence forever.

When we begin to remember who God is, our perspective slowly begins to change. Our problems may still be real, but they no longer become the whole story. Instead, they are viewed through the lens of a faithful Father whose wonderful works and loving thoughts toward His children are simply too many to count.

Our problems are never the whole story.
God's loving thoughts toward His children are simply too many to count.

Before You Go

Perhaps today you can think of more problems than blessings. If so, you are not alone. Many of us have seasons when our eyes become fixed on what is difficult instead of what God has already done. Yet Psalm 40 gently invites us to lift our eyes again and remember the countless evidences of His goodness that surround us each day.

Take a few moments today to reflect on God's faithfulness. Think about where He has provided, where He has comforted, where He has forgiven, and where He has carried you through circumstances you never thought you would survive. Then remember that His goodness has not reached its limit. Through Jesus Christ, the Lord is still working, still keeping His promises, and still accomplishing plans that are too wonderful for us to number. Let that truth strengthen your heart today and remind you that our God has always been, and will always be, abundantly good.