My favorite song in this classic Irving Berlin musical isn’t the beloved title song but a little song sung by Bing Crosby to Rosemary Clooney entitled Counting Your Blessing. It goes like this:

When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
So if you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.

Counting, Not Complaining
I must confess; the words of this simple song often convict me. Too often I find myself lamenting over moments in life that didn’t go the way I planned. It’s so easy to speak out of my frustration and begin to grumble and complain rather than focus on the wonderful gifts my heavenly Father has given me. How badly I need to be reminded to spend my time counting my blessings — not airing my complaints.

The message of this song reminds us to be more actively and intentionally grateful. When we begin to feel like complaining, we need to remember God’s faithfulness and “give thanks to the Lord! … Remember His marvelous works which He has done!” (Psalm 105:1, 5). The Lord has been good to every one of us in more ways than we could ever count. As believers it is impossible to count all the blessings God has given us because He has blessed us so abundantly. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” It is no wonder the psalmist exclaims, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits” (Psalm 68:19).

If we really stopped to think about it, most of us don’t need more to be thankful for … we just need to be more thankful. Psalm 107 is a song that seeks to rectify our thankless thinking. This Scripture makes a plea to hearts grown cold with ingratitude, repeating four times, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (verses 8, 15, 21 & 31). Imagine something so important for us to know that the Bible repeats it four times in one chapter!

As believers of Jesus Christ, we have much to be thankful for even in the worst of times. Let us allow this coming Christmas season to remind us of how marvelously God has blessed us. Our loving Heavenly Father sent Jesus Christ to this earth that we might be adopted into His family and truly become children of the Most High God. In light of this remarkable truth, may we learn to thank God for His goodness to us and marvel at His immeasurable love for us!