Counting Every Blessing

In this episode of The Intentional Grounding Godcast – Letters to Isaiah, Coach Dombrowski explores the spiritual discipline of gratitude and why counting our blessings changes the way we see life. Using 1 Thessalonians 5:18 as the anchor verse, this episode challenges listeners to shift their focus from what they lack to the blessings God has already placed in their lives.

Through biblical teaching and practical reflection, this episode explains how gratitude reshapes the mind, strengthens faith, and reveals God's work in everyday moments. Listeners will learn how blessings often hide in plain sight and how intentionally recognizing them can transform discouragement into hope. The episode concludes with a heartfelt letter to Isaiah about living a life rooted in gratitude and recognizing God’s goodness even in ordinary moments.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What if the reason you feel empty is not because God hasn't given you enough, but because you stopped counting what he already gave you. Sometimes the problem isn't that life is lacking. Sometimes the problem is that gratitude stopped being practiced. And when gratitude disappears, so does perspective. Tonight we're going to talk about something simple but powerful: counting every blessing. Welcome back to the Intentional Grounding Godcast Letters to Isaiah. I'm your host, Coach Dombrowski, and when we're talking about gratitude and so much more tonight, but we're going to anch ourselves first in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 18. And that episode, actually, I'm going to take it back. We're going to start in 16. So 1 Thessalonians 5, 16, it says, rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. So want y'all to know, like, and and just pick up on that verse there where it says, give thanks in all circumstances, right? It doesn't say give thanks for everything. It says give thanks in all circumstances, right? That means in difficulty, right? When when there is still something worth thanking God for, right? Gratitude isn't about ignoring problems, it's about refusing to ignore the blessings, right? And blessings hide in plain sight. Most blessings aren't loud, they're quiet, they're normal, right? They are everyday moments. They breathe, it breathes in your lungs, right? The strength in your legs, the friend that checks on you, right? The Bible sitting on your nightstand or the sunrise, you almost didn't notice. I mean, we tend to just only celebrate the big blessings, but God is constantly giving small miracles, and the people who experience the most joy are the people who notice the small little blessings. Think about it. You woke up today. I mean, that alone is a blessing. Someone didn't, right? You had food today, someone didn't. You had the ability to listen to this message today. Someone doesn't even have the freedom to hear the word of God. Blessings hide in plain sight, right? And we have to have gratitude because gratitude is something that resets our mind. There is something powerful about counting blessings because it interrupts negativity. The human mind naturally drifts towards worry and fear, comparisons, frustrations. But gratitude is something that helps with resetting your thinking. When you start listing the blessings, something starts to shift. Right? Your power, it grows, your problems shrink, the hope grows, your perspective widens. I love that. And you begin to see that God has been working in your life long before you even noticed it. I think this is why some of the most joyful people you will ever meet aren't the people with the most possessions. They're the people with the most gratitude, and they count blessings. Sometimes blessings are disguised. And I think this is a good this is a good spot here where we get honest. Because some blessings don't look like blessings at first. Sometimes they look like a closed door or broken plans, unexpected changes, the hard seasons. But later on you realize God wasn't blocking you, he was protecting you. He wasn't ignoring you, he was redirecting you. And he certainly wasn't punishing you, he was preparing you. Some of the greatest blessings in our lives will be the things that didn't work out. You're gonna look back and say, thank you, God, that door closed. Let's go a little deeper, though. There is a power, a powerful psychological and spiritual practice called intentional gratitude. All right, it's the act of actively searching for blessings, not passive passively noticing them, but actively counting them. Okay, y'all ever hear of the three blessings rule? So every night before bed, ask yourself, what were three blessings today? They don't need to be big. Maybe you had like just a very meaningful conversation, or you felt prayer and had immediate peace, or you watched a sunset, maybe you laughed. The more that you practice that, the more your mind begins looking for the blessings throughout the day, and then there's a hidden blessing test, right? When something frustrating happens, you have to ask yourself, well, what could God be protecting me from? Maybe that missed opportunity prevented a worse situation. Maybe that delayed action prevented a bad decision. Sometimes blessings are disguised as interruptions. Then we have the gratitude multiplier. When you thank God for something, it multiplies appreciation. Think about the story about Jesus feeding the five thousand for a minute, right? Before the miracle happened, Jesus gave thanks. Gratitude comes before the miracle, not after. I mean, if we can learn to thank God before we see the outcome, our faith is going to grow stronger. Right? It's going to grow stronger. And you know what? What if what if some of the greatest blessings in your life arrived wrapped in pain? What if the moments you prayed would disappear?

unknown 8:32

Right?

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Were the very moments that God that He used to transform you? You have to think about it from that light, too, from that lens. All are the bad things that happen in life also a blessing, right? Not everything feels like a blessing, not everything looks like a blessing, but sometimes God hides his greatest work inside the hardest seasons, right? I mean, some of us have walked through pain and confusion, some of us are walking through loss right now, and and the moments where we asked why, right? Help us understand how you work even when we cannot see the full picture. Open our hearts to wisdom and remind us that when life feels broken, he's still building something good.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

We all face that question Why do bad things happen? And deeper than that, can something painful still be a blessing? And I do want to be clear about something right away.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

I think not everything that happens comes from God, but God is powerful enough to use anything that does happen, right? And that's a lot of the times where the blessings hide. Think about Romans 8.28, right? And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, to them who are called according to his purpose, right? The verse doesn't say all things are good, it says all things work together for good. There's a difference. Pain is real, loss is real, hard seasons, real. Right? But God has the ability to take the broken pieces and build something meaningful from them. Right? Those hard seasons, they have a way of revealing things about us, about our pride and our fear, our self-reliance. Sometimes when life is comfortable, we drift, we stop praying deeply, we stop searching the word. We start relying on ourselves instead of God, and then something happens that wakes us up spiritually. This is where, like, I really want to ground here because sometimes the pain is not punishment, sometimes the pain is an awakening.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Our muscles they grow through tension, our character grows through pressure, and our faith grows through the testing.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptation, knowing this, that the tying or the trying of your faith works in patience. How about that word trying, testing, pressure, faith, right? That faith becomes real when it survives the pressure.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Anyone can believe when life is easy. Faith is something that stands during the storm and it becomes unshakable.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Some of the strongest people you're ever going to meet became strong because they had to. And sometimes the pain redirects your life. And there are moments in life where we are walking towards something that isn't meant for us, and God closes the door. And at that at the time, it feels devastating, right? Maybe a relationship ends or the a job opportunity disappears or a plan falls apart. But later you look back and you realize if that door stayed open, you would have walked into something harmful. Sometimes the closed doors are not rejection, they're protection. Sometimes we realize that years later. Right?

SPEAKER_00 13:33

But there's one thing I know for sure. Pain pain develops compassion.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

People who have never struggled are often the people that struggle to understand others. But when somebody has actually walked through the pain, they begin to develop compassion and they understand grief, they understand loneliness and fear. And suddenly they can help others who are walking through that same valley. Right? God turns that pain into purpose, that very thing that hurts you. Like it becomes the very thing that helps someone else heal. I mean, God can turn any situation into a blessing over time. Right? In the refining season, you know, it's when God is shaping your character, removing the pride, strengthening your patience. That's the potter's wheel moment where the pressure is applied to shape something better.

unknown 14:56

Right?

SPEAKER_00 15:00

And then the redirecting season.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

When God straight up just changes your direction. Sometimes we're pursuing something that looks good, but it isn't aligned with God's purpose for us. Right? So doors close, plans collapse, but the plans that collapse create a new path. And many people are going to discover their true calling after something unexpected changed their direction. Or maybe it's the preparation season, right? Sometimes a hardship prepares you for responsibility that you haven't stepped into yet. Think about the story of Joseph. Joseph was betrayed, sold into slavery, thrown into prison. And for years his life looked like a disaster. But those experiences prepared him to eventually lead a nation through famine, right? And without those hardships, Joseph would not have developed the wisdom needed to save other people. Let's be honest for a moment, man. Sometimes the pain never makes sense in the moment. It doesn't. The grief, the loss, the heartbreak. I mean, those seasons are real and they hurt deeply. Faith doesn't mean pretending pain doesn't exist. It means believing that God is still working even when we can't see the outcome yet. Sometimes the blessing is not the event.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

The blessing is who you become after surviving it.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

To my grandson Isaiah, there will be moments in your life where things don't make sense. You'll face disappointments. You'll face hardships. And you may even ask God why something had to happen. And I want you to remember something. I've learned over time. Life is easier to understand looking backward than looking forward. When you're in the middle of the storm, it feels confusing. But years later, you may look back and realize that every moment you thought was breaking you was actually shaping you. And I hope you can grow into a man who trusts God even when life feels uncertain. Because God does some of his greatest work in seasons that look the darkest.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

I love you, buddy.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

Well, not all pain is a blessing, but we should be surely counting all of them, right? God can turn any pain into purpose. We know hard seasons can reveal hidden struggles, strengthen our faith, and redirect your life, help us grow compassion for others. So the next time that life becomes difficult, I want you to pause for a moment and ask a powerful question. God, what are you building in me through this season? That question alone can change your entire perspective. Sometimes a blessing isn't the storm itself, it's the strength and the faith that God builds while you walk through it. Until next time. Coach Dombrowski out.