Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise His holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all His benefitsPsalm 103:1-2, NIV
How easily do we forget! At least I do. It is so easy to get lost and trapped in the troubles of the moment and loose hope. To get frustrated, upset, and despair. To become depressed.
Are trials, uncertainties, and other downs of life pleasant? Of course not! But they are not all there is. In such times as these, it is good to remember all of God’s benefits and His past works, both in your life, in those around you, and in those you’ve read/heard about. Speak truth into your life and see how things change. No, the situation may not get better or the pain decrease, but hope will rekindle and an inner assurance will be restored. For our God is not just a God of the past, nor just a God of the present, but a God of the future as well. Just like He acted mightily in the past, He will do it again!
Read Psalm 77 (NIV). It begins in pain, unanswered questions, and distress, almost despair:
1 I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted…7 “Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
A dark place. “I’m in pain. God is not listening. I feel rejected. This stinks!” But the psalmist does not stay down. What can he do? He turns his focus not on the present storm, but on the past:
10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out His right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all Your works
and meditate on all Your mighty deeds.”
God is faithful, and the psalmist remembers that. He goes on to reflect on how God miraculously brought Israel out of Egypt. He remembers God’s benefits and his perspective changes.
David does much of the same in Psalm 103 (NIV). He starts listing out all of the great things God has done and is lifted up, remembering the God:
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion
For:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will He harbor His anger forever;
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His love for those who fear Him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.13 As a father has compassion on His children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him;
14 for He knows how we are formed,
He remembers that we are dust….
If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to keep a journal. Doesn’t have to be fancy, just a record of what you went through and how God came through. Then in tough times as these you can look back and see that you’ve been through thick and slim before-and God carried you through.
Talk to others as well. Through my past two small groups, I got to know some of them very well and heard their stories of deliverance. Because of confidentiality, I cannot share those here but I wish I could- God DOES NOT FAIL, even in hard times!
Share your story. That is what the psalmist in Psalm 107 (NIV) does:
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe…4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress…10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains…13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for He breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron…
and so on.
I confess, I fail to do this myself and need to. Because when life is dark and dreary, I too need to remember all of God’s benefits!
Spiritual Reflections of a Growing Disciple & Willing Servant of Christ 