Stephen spoke this morning at Cherry Tree Court on the subject of numbers – not the book in the BIble of that name, but how our lives can so easily be controlled by numbers. We count the pennies and pounds in our bank account, hoping there is enough to pay all our bills. We count the days to events like birthdays and Christmas (only 107 sleeps to Christmas 2018, apparently!) as well as to pay day and retirement! Some numbers can be enjoyable (most people enjoy counting off the days on an Advent calendar, especially if there are chocolates involved!), but for many of us, numbers add stress, strain and distraction to our lives and leave us wondering if we are counting the right things.
The old hymn advises us to ‘count your blessings; name them one by one’ and this is sound advice to us. So often, we forget God’s many blessings and the ways He has helped us in the past. Matt 11:28-30 reminds us that Jesus promises us rest. He promises to exchange our heavy yoke for HIs light one, to give us that rest and renewed perspective which are so lacking in our lives so often. As we learn to count our blessings and come to Jesus, we will find rest because we truly can count on God to help us in every situation and to walk with us along life’s road.