Song number 118 in our song book is “Count Your Blessings”. In the song we are encouraged to, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done”. While I agree completely with the sentiment expressed in the song, I can’t help but think about the impossibility of the task. There are many obvious ways in which God blesses us every day. He blesses us with the beauty of the world around us, we enjoy the company of family and friends, we are able to provide all of the material things we need for ourselves and for our families. And just imagine how blessed we are in this country to be able to meet openly with other Christians and worship as God commands without worrying about governmental interference. These and many other blessings are not difficult to see and “count”. Other blessings are less obvious to us and may not be seen as blessings for years or even at all in this life. Take Joseph as an example. I seriously doubt that he thought it was a good thing that his brothers hated him and, “could not speak peaceably to him” (Genesis 37:4). It would be difficult to imagine that Joseph would have thought that his brothers’ plot to kill him would be a blessing in disguise (Genesis 37:20). Would any of us think that being sold into slavery was a good thing (Genesis 37:28)? How could being imprisoned after being falsely accused of attacking a woman possibly be seen as a blessing (Genesis 39:1-20)? Even though all of these events would have been seen as bad at the time they occurred, Joseph was later able to see that they really were a blessing, not only for him but for all of his family as well. Years later when he confronted the brothers who hated him, who plotted to kill him, and sold him into slavery, he was able to say, “God sent me before you to preserve life”. Because of all the bad things that had happened to him, he found himself in a position to provide for his entire family during a time of famine. So too, in our lives bad things may be a blessing in disguise.