A few years ago, singer and songwriter Matt Redman came out with a worship tune that has become a favorite for many. It’s called “10,000 Reasons.” But, while the song is recent, the idea and sentiment is not. In fact, it reminds me of at least two older hymns I remember from my childhood.
There is nothing particularly “magical” or spiritually significant about the number 10,000–it appears several times throughout the Bible, and usually signifies a large number or amount–it’s a number big enough to be impressive; it is difficult for most of us to imagine having 10,000 cattle on a farm, or 10,000 trees in an orchard, or 10,000 children to feed and clothe and house! It would be difficult to remember 10,000 names or 10,000 different passwords, or phone numbers– we can write them down or store them, but to remember them all on our own? Nearly impossible. And try to sit down and write out the titles of 10,000 books or movies of songs–or 10,000 people you have met in your lifetime. It might take days (unless you cheat and use a database), and even then, you probably would end up listing items that wouldn’t “count”– people you had not actually met or titles that were unfamiliar to you.
We live in a world of huge numbers– millions and billions and trillions– numbers so huge that they don’t really seem “real.” The Bible doesn’t use a lot of these numbers; instead, God uses pictures and metaphors, like “stars in the sky” or “grains of sand on the seashore:” objects beyond counting and beyond comprehension. Yet there are large numbers in the Bible– specific numbers of warriors, priests, and people in the nation of Israel at various times in their history; large amounts of money owed or gifts given; large distances…and God is a God of them all. God knows the exact number of hairs on each head (sometimes many thousands, and sometimes just a handful!); He knows the number of grains of sand on each beach on every seashore and lake shore, and the amount of water in each lake and pond and sea. He knows the name and size and position of every star and every planet and all their satellites.
If we were to list all the many reasons that God is great, and good; kind and loving; powerful and majestic and holy– if we found one new reason every day, it would take more than 27 years to find 10,000 reasons! And we would only be getting started!
But here’s the catch: we will never find 10,000 reasons if we never begin to search for them. God will still be the “fairest of 10,000;” He will still be majestic and faithful; sovereign and glorious– but we can miss it all, and waste our life on 10,000 trivialities, or 10,000 complaints, or 100,000 lesser things.
God doesn’t publish a list of 10,000 (or 100,000 or a million) reasons to worship Him– but He gives us the opportunity to discover new reasons each and every day. And He invites us– all of us– to come and discover “10,000 charms” in the loving embrace of His Son! We are never more than a prayer away from another reason to sing His praises!
Pursuing Prayer 