"The very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Luke 12:7).

"Count your blessings." We hear that especially at Thanksgiving. But the problem is that we're not very good at that.

OUR COUNTING

If I was really going to count my blessings, I would count each of the more than 34 thousand breaths I take each day. I would count every single square of my Life cereal, and every glorious leaf God paints for my enjoyment each fall, and every kiss from my wife and children, and every laugh I share with a friend, and every warm drop of water from the showerhead that feels so good at the end of a tiring day.

I would count not only every penny in my retirement account but also the ones I lost in this recession. I would count not only every part of my body that works well and doesn't hurt but also every part that is failing and sore. I would count not only all that goes well every day but also every problem and frustration. These things teach me that I can't count on anything in this sin-cursed life to give me the lasting joy and peace I long for. They remind me that I am just a sinner who needs not only God's help but also God's salvation. They turn my heart toward God so I can be reminded of the counting that really makes me thankful: God's counting.

GOD'S COUNTING

God is a much better counter than we are. Jesus tells us, "The very hairs of your head are all numbered." Jesus not only knows the exact number of hairs on our heads, but he also knows when hair 103,416 falls out in the shower and when hair 58,027 gets pulled out and stuck in a hairbrush. The tiniest details of our lives matter to him, because we matter to him. He hears every single sigh, and he sees every single tear.

But why should God be so intimately concerned about us and thoroughly committed to us? Is it because we have worn our Bibles out like someone crazy in love with God, someone who wants to know every little detail about him? How have we repaid him for his love and for numbering every single hair of ours? David said, "My sins . . . are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me" (Psalm 40:12). Take a good look at that apron covering you the next time you get a haircut. All that hair is all your sin against God. No wonder David's heart failed within him.

But here is why our hearts don't fail at our sin but instead swell with thanksgiving: God does not count a single one of our sins against us. And it's not like God just to shrug them off. In order to forget the count of our sins, he had to number his Son with the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12). He charged his holy Son with every sin counted against us and put him to death on the cross for them. He did that because he loves us. He did that so we can say with confidence and thanks every single day, "Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him" (Psalm 32:2).