July 30: Forget none of His benefits

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion. Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.     (Psalm l03:1-5 — New American Standard Bible)

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that God is only interested in “perfect” people. No one is ever too far gone for God, no pit is too deep, no sin is too bad. God’s specialty is changing the lives of people that others have given up on. Nothing is impossible for Him. Not only is there no limit to His power, He is a loving Father that cares for the people He created. When religious leaders complained that Jesus chose to associate with prostitutes, thieves, and lepers over them, He replied that He had not come for the healthy, but for the sick.

This passage begins with an interesting exchange: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits.”  King David’s mind knew who God was and what He’d done, but his heart and emotions were at times sidetracked and contaminated with forgetfulness, fear and worry. His mind had to remind his heart of the fundamentals of his faith. And today we have the same problem, if not worse. Too many times we assume that our feelings are a reflection of the facts, of the reality of what’s happening around us, when in truth they are a roller coaster of emotions that are too easily affected by circumstances, the past, what we see, and what we hear. It’s so easy to forget who God is and what He’s done, and like King David’s reasoning gave a shot in the arm to his emotions, we need to constantly do the same. 

Like several other places in the Bible, this passage compares a man/woman of faith to an eagle, for very good reason. They fly higher than any other bird (10,000 feet), their wingspan is the largest at over six feet, enabling them to use air currents to lift them to high altitudes, they live in nests that are built on mountain cliffs or on the top branches of the tallest trees, and their eyesight is four times that of human beings, making it possible for them to see their prey at a distance of over one mile. 

Every one of these characteristics could be compared to a man/woman of faith. We are not content to live a normal life like everyone else, and insist on a quality life because we are children of God, we don’t depend on our own strength, but stretch out the wings of faith and allow God’s Spirit to lift us up, we desire to live in God’s presence and have no desire to be wrapped up in the worries and concerns of the world, and are able to see through the traps and lies of the devil, and through hardships to the victories we will achieve through faith.

This chapter of the Bible is one that should be read and reread throughout our lives.