Count the Blessings, Not the Problems

Anxiety has a selective, cruel memory: it holds on to everything that went wrong and erases every time God rescued you. That's why the psalmist has to give his own soul a command: "forget not all his benefits." Forgetting is easy; remembering takes a choice. Think for a moment about how many times you thought you wouldn't manage — and you did. How many bills that seemed impossible ended up being paid. How many nights of dread turned into mornings of relief. How many prayers you didn't even notice were answered, because you were already worried about the next thing. God has a track record of faithfulness in your life; anxiety just keeps you from consulting it. Today, do a memory exercise that is also a faith exercise: list three things — however small — that you can thank God for today, and three times he has already rescued you in the past. Remembering what he has already done is the best remedy for the fear of what is still to come. A God who was so faithful yesterday will not abandon you tomorrow.