10,000 Reasons

"Bless the Lord, Oh my soul!

Oh my soul!

Worship His Holy Name.

Sing like never before,

Oh my soul.

I'll worship Your Holy name!"

The aforementioned lyrics are from a very familiar worship song by Matt Redman entitled "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)." Like many songs, I'd heard this one a hundred times, thought it was a nice but hadn't really embraced it as my heart song. All of that changed when Christia and I were in San Diego on our "baby moon" and we visited The Rock Church.

As we walked through the doors of the sanctuary, you could just feel the love and presence of God even before the worship team began. Every song on their set list was awesome! When they started playing the introduction to "10,000 Reasons," the song came alive in me, and I've been singing it ever since. 

Like many of you, we have so much to be thankful for. But I think sometimes we forget to count our blessings while we're on the journey.

Listed below are a few of the 10,000+ reasons I bless the Lord:

1. I am loved.
God reminds me of this simple, but profound truth everyday through the Word, in worship, through my marriage and other godly relationships (family, friends, co-workers).

2. I am forgiven.
For years, I lived under an umbrella of shame, oppression and defeat but those layers are coming off. He's given me beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3b).

3. I am free.
My heart has been set on fire, opening my eyes to the truth and beauty around me and in me. Instead of living in fear, I am free to live, I am free to love, I am free to dance, I am free to sing and on and on! (If you've ever been in any form of bondage, you know freedom feels so good!)

What are your 10,000 reasons? Take a moment and share them with us. Feel free to post them in the comments section below. Let's see if we can actually get 10,000 reasons posted! :)