Psalm 103:2

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits ~ Psalm 103:2

 

Sometimes we have to be reminded to give thanks to God. When times are good, it is easy to remember that we owe so much to the great God who gave all to us. It is when our times are tough and life is not going our way that we forget all the benefits God has granted to us. The psalmist is doing some self talk here, and we are reminded that we at times have to do that as well. Being down in the dumps, or mildly depressed is natural and normal, if it lasts for a day or just a few days. When it becomes clinical, and we cannot escape the feelings of darkness, we must recognize we need more help than self talk, but here, this is just what the psalmist needs and it is what he gives to himself. He is calling his own soul to recollection, and he does so emphatically. “Bless the Lord, O my soul…”, do not forget the many favours God has continually brought to your life! He has worked in wondrous ways in the past, and He will do so again. There are many occurrences in life we would rather not encounter when we are in the midst of them, and we desire that we would escape them all. It often is not until we get through to the other side of the experience we discover God had His hand in it, and what we thought was going to harm us, in fact brought about good. God always cares for us, no matter the adversity we encounter, and He will never leave us or forsake us in or out of our trials. They say there is a silver lining in every cloud. Most certainly there is a God above and within us that desires the best for His children. He is our heavenly Father, He sent His Son to pardon our sins, to give us eternal life, and give us an abundant life in the here and now. In the midst of COVID19 we have much to be thankful for – and many are doing just that as they salute the front line workers (Doctors, Nurses, Emergency Crews such as Police, Fire and Ambulance workers), the grocery store attendants, the fast food employees, the person who delivers your morning paper. Much of life has stopped, but much is carrying on because of these people. What else can you give thanks to God for today? Stop, have a good talk with your soul today, and remind yourself to give thanks to God.


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