How often have we heard someone say, "You need to count your blessings"? This is said whenever some calamity takes place or someone is feeling sorry for himself and is down in the dumps about something. As men begin to "count their blessings," they invariably start counting their cars, their houses, their health and that of their family, jobs, husbands, wives, friends, etc. All these things have their place, I'm sure; and we are truly thankful for them. But when the saints in the Bible "counted their blessings," their COUNTING was always different from ours. "They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing.that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Acts 5:41). They counted suffering shame for Christ to be a blessing! They also counted whatever was gain to them to be but loss, to be dung, that they might win Christ. They counted it a blessing to give up all, to count it all loss for Christ, their Lord.
Paul, when counting his blessings in Ephesians 1, started counting election, God's eternal love, God's predestinating purpose, God's glorious sovereignty, Christ's blessed redemption, and the effectual work of the Holy Spirit. He counted being chosen in Christ before the world began and being accepted in the Beloved to be the CHIEFEST BLESSINGS. Maybe we need to rethink this thing of "counting our blessings."