Our Daily Bread devotional, October 28, 2016 - Learning to Count

Topic: Learning to Count [October 28, 2016]

Read: Psalm 139:14–18, Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 15–17; 2 Timothy 2

 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! Psalm 139:17

My son is learning to count from one to ten. He counts everything from toys to trees. He counts things I tend to overlook, like the wildflowers on his way to school or the toes on my feet.

My son is also teaching me to count again. Often I become so immersed in things I haven’t finished or things I don’t have that I fail to see all the good things around me. I have forgotten to count the new friends made this year and the answered prayers received, the tears of joy shed and the times of laughter with good friends.

My ten fingers are not enough to count all that God gives me day by day. “Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare” (Ps. 40:5). How can we even begin to count all the blessings of salvation, reconciliation, and eternal life?

Let us join David as he praises God for all His precious thoughts about us and all He has done for us, when he says, “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand” (139:17–18).

Let’s learn to count again!

Lord, Your works are so many and good I can’t count them all. But I thank You for each one.

Let’s thank God for His countless blessings.

Insight:
Psalm 139:15 is one of the most well-known and beloved verses in all of Scripture. Because it is difficult to translate, it might have a broader and fuller meaning than the English represents. The Hebrew could also be rendered, “My bones were not crushed because of You, when I was secretly made.” Not only does this verse tell us that God knew us before we were born, but it also tells us that He was actively protecting and sustaining us as we were being formed in the secret place of our mother’s womb.

This message was written by Keila Ochoa [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]