Count your blessings:                                                                                                     ….. Angelina Raj
There has been a lot of trouble and chaos in the last 10 yrs, but still when we COUNT Yahweh’s blessings, we are the blessed people who are able to see this new decade.  When I was a child, I always saw people making promises for the New Year. Many of them even made a note of them and kept it as a proof and ultimately forget to even look at them at the end of the year and get geared up for the new set of promises. All the past New Year resolutions go into the recycle bin. They are never followed. I never liked to have New Year promises, because I know that I would not keep them. I always tried to recall all the good things Yahweh has given me and made me what I am today, just like the song, “count your many blessings...” Let’s have a look why we need to count our blessings.
King David was a shepherd who always sang of Yahweh’s great works. He was a vessel of praise. A vessel - that Yahweh was happy with. We see many attacks in his shepherd life. (I Samuel 17:37) and how he killed the lion, bear and the Philistine. He also received a name “A man after Yahweh’s own heart”.  There has been a lot of trials and distress in King David’s life, but still he never ceased to pray and praise Him. 
 As I am talking about this, I am reminded of a message which I heard from Sis. Joy Cherian. She was talking about “The Potter and the clay”. She was very precise in describing how and what a potter does to create or make a vessel.  Jeremiah 18:1-6. Yahweh is our potter; He created us from the dust. He knows how to design us in His image. Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet asking him to go to the potter’s house and then He said, he will talk to him. As, Jeremiah was looking at the potter, he saw him designing the vessels.  He found that the potter had all the rights on the miry clay.  May be the clay had many thoughts  in its mind like, why is the potter taking so long time in making me? Or it might be wondering, why should he make me spin round the wheel over and again? Or why is my portion of clay cut-off? Etc. Similarly, we are wondering and asking Yahweh so many “why” questions. When we have been living in our own world, He molds us as the miry clay, to make us soft and succulent and we are unaware of his plans. He would hold us in His hands and take utmost time in shaping us. The clay might be wondering, “will I become a pot or a bowl or a tree-pot?”.  Just the same, we wonder and think, what will I become, a doctor or an engineer or a pilot?  We are not sure of our next moment, but we plan to think of what we are supposed to become. It’s not wrong having aims and ambitions, but we need to first submit ourselves to the will of Yahweh. Let’s see a few points about this extract.

A Sovereign Yahweh – over his creation and man!  - Yahweh has purpose in each individual’s life. As we see in the Bible, he had plans for everyone, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Moses, Joshua and even the Prophet Jeremiah. When Yahweh asked Jeremiah to serve him, he said, “Lord, I cannot speak” (Jeremiah 1:7) and then He told him that he has no reasons to make because Yahweh had ordained him before he was born (Jeremiah 1:5)

We must submit to the sovereign Yahweh – We must have a submissive heart to acknowledge the work of Yahweh in our lives. He knows the best fit in our life. When we are not sure of what must be done, we need to be waiting on Him and ask him what has to be done even as King David was also waiting on Him, when he was in the forest and during raging wars in his life. He wasn’t hasty to work against Yahweh’s plan, but was keenly in prayer of what his life would be. He was asking for Yahweh’s help in every situation. When there was a chance for King David to kill Saul, and be king in his stead,
he refrained from it. He knew that the Potter was planning something, something big for him. It is written in Isaiah that every word which comes out of the mouth of Yahweh will accomplish what it has to do and nothing shall prevail (Isaiah 55:10, 11). Yahweh has a purpose in our lives and all being which he created is having value added to it.

Patience, Perseverance and longsuffering of the potter - Here we see how the potter was keen enough to create a beautiful vessel. The potter’s characteristics of Patience, Perseverance and          longsuffering has made the vessel look beautiful and worthy. Even so is  Yahweh, a patient Yahweh; who wants us to bring glory to His name. He is patient enough in molding us, shaping us and redesigning us. We have gone out of the fold many times and he brought us back. Even when we have denied the Lord, he was gracious enough to reconcile with us and to help us live a victorious life.  When our Potter is so patient, why cannot we understand the power of his creation in our lives?
We may be not happy in our lives today and are thinking what my future would be. As it is said- Cast all your care upon him, for he careth for you. (I Peter 5:7). If we follow according to the potter’s orders, we would indeed be a vessel of honor, a vessel serving others, a vessel which brings glory to Yahweh.

Let us make a promise, not for this New Year but let this be an everyday promise that we would be allowing our Potter to work in our lives. We would allow Him to have sovereignty in our live and we would be readily asking Yahweh to have his own way in our lives. Once we allow this to happen, we would indeed count all his blessings and will name each of the blessing which Yahweh has done!!