For All That You Have Done

By Rend Collective

For all that You have done for us, for every battle won,
we’ll raise a song to bless Your heart for all that you have done.

“For All That You Have Done” is a great worship song written to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne,” a traditional New Year’s song. Maybe it’s because of the Scot in me, but “For All That You Have Done” has recently become a favorite of mine.
The start of a new year gives us the perfect opportunity to stop and reflect on all that God has done for us in the previous year. That might be hard to do, given the year we just had. Through all the heaviness of 2020, it might not seem like there is much to be thankful for, but even in our hardships we can find reasons to praise God.

One of the things I think the COVID-19 pandemic has taught all of us is to not take our time here on earth for granted. It has taught us to count each and every blessing, no matter how small.

To help us have a better grasp on just how abundant God’s blessings are, we implemented the “10,000 Blessings Challenge” last year at CPC as part of our stewardship campaign. This challenge was actually created by my friend’s sister quite a few years ago, and my mom and I have been blessed to be a part of it over the years. With her help, we were able to bring “10,000 Blessings” to CPC.
Participants of the challenge are put into groups of 10 (on a private Facebook page or on their own in a journal). Every day for 100 days, each group member is to write down 10 things that they find a blessing. A blessing would be considered anything that you are thankful for, something that has brought you joy, or something that you feel God has given you or taught you. The goal is to not repeat any blessings. After 100 days, if everyone does 10 a day, there will be a total of 10,000 blessings listed!

“10,000 Blessings” was partially based off of the classic hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” in which the author writes:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

There is so much to be thankful for. By writing down our blessings, it gives us a visual representation of this. It also changes our attitudes towards life, especially when life gets hard.
CPC is doing the “10,000 Blessings Challenge” again this year, and I invite you to try it with us. Writing down 10 blessings a day for 100 days may seem like a daunting task at first, especially because you can’t repeat blessings. But it is not impossible! And it will definitely make you view things differently.

When I first started this challenge a few years ago, this is what the first few entries looked like:
1. Food and water
2. Clothes
3. Family and friends
4. A home
5. Etc.

Those are certainly things to be thankful for. However, I noticed that after a while it became easier to find the little things in life that are considered blessings and the way I wrote my list began to grow.
As an example, here is my personal list of blessings from 2020:

1. Meeting a neighbor and becoming good friends with him
2. Rekindling an old friendship
3. Celebrating New Year’s Eve with my new friends and some old friends
4. My bestie randomly stopping by late at night to bring me a Christmas present. We ended up making tea and talking outside in the cold until midnight
5. God’s protection over me and my family from the coronavirus
6. Being able to be of service to the community as a nurse
7. Being one of the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and not having any side-effects apart from a sore deltoid muscle
8. The ability to attend an online worship conference run by Keith and Kristyn Getty and learning more about music and singing the scriptures that will help me as a music director
9. The online Pajama Service was so good!
10. Wrapping Christmas presents with my sister.

After some time, it becomes easier and quicker to write a list like this. The more you write these things down, the more noticeable life’s blessings become, both the big and the small.

It also gets easier to find the good in the bad. For example, if I trip and fall, that may not seem like a blessing. However, instead of getting mad about falling, I can be grateful that I didn’t hurt myself, which would be a blessing. Or when I get cold, instead of complaining about the cold I can be grateful that I have a warm home to live in, another blessing.

There are many songs about God’s blessings that I could have chosen for today’s post, but I love the way Rend Collective took an old New Year’s song and transformed the lyrics into a beautiful hymn that reminds us to praise the Lord for all that he has done.
As you reflect on 2020, look past the bad and praise God for all the blessings he has bestowed upon you this past year. Praise him for his grace and mercy. Praise him for his faithfulness and his goodness. Praise him for the redemption of our sins.
In 2021, instead of worrying about the future and what bad things may come your way, be on the lookout for God’s blessings and praise him for them. He will give you more blessings than you can count!

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:19-23

Click here to listen to “For All That You Have Done.”