Are You Counting The Right Things?
Good Morning Friends,
Today’s question made me think of Tom Monahan, founder of Domino’s Pizza and Ave Maria University. Tom, I understand from those closest to him, counts things to get him through the day. That was what made him successful in the pizza business. He was always counting the right things. Today’s scripture asks us to be careful about what we count. The focus is not our footsteps or the time it takes to deliver a pizza, but our praises… the gratitude of our attitude, and moreover it asks us to count these praises into eternity. In today’s scripture, we read a Psalm written by David for the dedication of the Temple, an event that David would not attend in part because he counted the wrong things (read 1 Chronicles 21) and yet the words David wrote were echoed on that day of dedication, and even to this day encouraging us of the importance of counting the right things. With this proper perspective we learn how to increase our endurance and outlast the struggles in life… to walk and not grow faint, run and not grow weary. We learn to fight on, to hold on, to press on, to wait on, dance and sing on into eternity the praises to our LORD as we keep counting the meter and measure of life. Are You Counting The Right Things?
Scripture: I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!” You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
Psalm 30 (NRSV)
But Joab said, “May the Lord increase the number of his people a hundredfold! Are they not, my lord the king, all of them my lord’s servants? Why then should my lord require this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?” But the king’s word prevailed against Joab. So Joab departed and went throughout all Israel, and came back to Jerusalem.
1 Chronicles 21:3-4 (NRSV)
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:29-31 (NRSV)
Message: Why is it that a person with hair on their head has more hair than a person with hairs on their head? Perhaps the answer has to do with how our minds work in understanding and categorizing things in our experience. Perhaps the logic of the Christian language is a window into our thoughts about boundaries in different dimensions. Here we contemplate why it is called after dark when it is really after the light. Here we contemplate how we could possibly add anything to God and yet how in His love we are brought to completeness. It is here in the physics embedded in our language we hear Jesus’ last words on the cross, (“It is finished.”) and think of it as a beginning for us. Here we have the audacity to think of God counting the hairs on our head as part of God’s complete love. Friends, God is interested in counting. An entire book of the Bible is named Numbers. David got into trouble by counting for the wrong reasons. Paul counted profit and loss against the potential gain of being in Christ. Hosea counted the law as great. Ages and reigns are counted in the Bible. Proverbs counts wisdom and the wise. The Bible teaches us that the cost of discipleship must be counted. Job asks God if we are to be counted as beasts. Paul instructs the Thessalonians to be counted worthy by enduring. But today’s message is more than the counting of space, matter, time and causality. Today’s message is that God should never be counted out as long as what we do is counted for Christ.
Pray with thanksgiving that we see God and ourselves in a personal relationship. Pray that God’s love has each of our names on its actions. Pray we are more than sparrows, more than sheep. Pray that by God’s grace we have confidence in God during times of uncertainty. Pray we are faithful to his will. Pray we face challenges with steadfastness and courage. Pray we experience God’s complete love. Pray we realize that counting the wrong things might be prompted by pride and a sense of self-sufficiency. Pray that God would encourage us through Word and Spirit to be thankful enough to be counting the right things. Pray God’s priorities would take root in our hearts and cause us to look to God as our source and supply for all things. Pray for those who have been struggling financially, economically, physically and emotionally. Pray we not look to our own strength but to God to heal, bless, deliver and provide. Pray we count praises into eternity making the actual count a number so large that it could never be written down. Pray we realize that we can count on Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 