How often do you and I fail to recognize God’s blessings to us, even when they are right before our eyes? Yesterday I spoke of the people in the Old Testament not recognizing the Manna as a gift from God, and the people in the New Testament not recognizing Jesus as the Bread of Life. But surely God’s people today would not do that, would we?

When you have been told to “count your blessings,” do you? How often have you done it? There is no time like the present. Right now, recognize the blessings God has given you in your life. What are the blessings all around you from God that you don’t recognize or take for granted? Think about it … Home, family, job, cars, televisions, phones, electricity, internet, air conditioning and heating, clean water, abundant food, indoor plumbing … the list is endless.

I wonder how many of you thought about the more subtle blessings, the things that may appear negative but are actually good? Have you counted as blessings …

• the hardships you have endured that have helped you grow as a believer…
• the struggles that have matured you in your faith…
• the conflicts that have brought you closer to Christ
• those enemies and critics who have forced you to examine your motives and actions to make sure that you were right and truly following God’s design for your life

You need to recognize things like these for the blessings they are from the God who has promised you that He will make all things work for the good of those who love Him.

Paul Harvey told the story of the bomber that took off from Guam for Kokura, Japan during World War II for a bombing run. The sleek B-29 turned and circled above the cloud that covered the target for half an hour, three-quarters of an hour, 55 minutes, until the fuel supply reached the danger point. It seemed a shame to be right over the primary target and then have to pass it up, but there was no real choice. With one more look back, they headed for their secondary target. Upon arrival, they found the sky clear. “Bombs away” and the B-29 headed for home. Weeks later, an officer received information from military intelligence that chilled his heart. Thousands of allied prisoners of war, the largest concentration of Americans in enemy hands, had been moved to Kokura a week before the aborted bombing run. The officer mumbled, “Thank God for that cloud.” The city that was hidden from the bomber was a prison camp and thousands of Americans now alive would not have been but for that cloud. The secondary target that day was Nagasaki, and the bomb intended for Kokura was the world’s second atomic bomb. God used what appeared to be something bad – a cloud – and made it a blessing.

That same God is the one who took about the worst thing we could ever imagine – death – and made it work for our good. He allowed the death of His Son, His perfect, sinless Son, to be the payment for your sins and for my sins, so that we could be forgiven. All who believe this promise have life everlasting. Our sins were put on Him and His perfection was put on us. Not a very fair trade, but that is the way God blesses us. It comes from love.

God’s blessings are all around you. You just may not always identify them for what they really are. It would be good for you to consider each day the ways in which God has blessed you. The reason manna was given daily in the wilderness was to remind the people that God was blessing them each day. If it only came once a week or once a month, they would only have reminder of God’s blessing once a week or once a month. That is the same reason our Lord taught us to pray “give us this day our daily bread.” Each day should be enough for us, an ample reminder of God’s loving presence and blessing upon us.