What are you thankful for? Family, friends, job, home, heat, gas, food, clothes, freedom, …… Being thankful is a guaranteed way to cure envy and jealousy. When we are grateful for what we have and who we are and the people in our lives- we aren’t envious of others. We learn as Paul taught us that we can be ‘content in every situation.’
Sometimes we need to give ourselves a good talking-to. Psalm 103 is a prayer by David in which he talks to his own soul and reminds himself to “bless the Lord” and “forget not all his benefits.” Most of us are better at criticism than at praise. We’ve all had people in our lives that seem to be quicker to criticize than to encourage us. We may even find ourselves being overly critical of others and falling into this same trap. The sad part is that it takes only one hurtful, critical thing to destroy many, many good things in our spirits. It is much easier to break somebody’s spirit that it is to build them up.
I wonder how many of us could give God a “one-minute praising” for all his blessings. We’re sure good at telling the Lord what we want him to do for us. We need a good dose of Psalm 103 to wash out that complaining spirit and replace it with a heart of gratitude to the Lord. “all my inmost being praise his holy name.” “Forget not all his benefits.” We must think before we can thank. We must ponder before we can praise. We must remember before we can rejoice.
Here are five blessings of the Lord that we must not forget.
1. Forgiveness: “He forgives all your sin.” God will forgive our past sins and all those that we bring to Him now and into the future. 1 John 1:9 reminds us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” We are thankful for God blessing of forgiveness.
2. Healing: “Who heals all your diseases.” After doctors and nurses have done all, they can do, and after we have used all the latest technology and taken the newest drugs, healing must come from the Lord. That’s why we pray for the sick. They may be healed by medicine or by surgery or by some other course of treatment or they may find healing through prayer or by a miracle from the Lord. All those things are possible, and they are not mutually exclusive.
• If you were sick and are now healthy, give thanks to the Lord.
• If your cancer is in remission, give thanks to the Lord.
• If you nearly died after an accident but somehow survived, give thanks to the Lord.
I’ve had people ask; “Do you believe in divine healing?” Truly that is the only kind there is. Give thanks to the Lord for every bit of healing you experience. Good medicine and good prayer go together.
3. Deliverance: “Who redeems your life from the pit.” To redeem means to rescue from danger in the time of trouble. The “pit” refers to death itself.
We’ll all die someday, and when the moment comes, we have the assurance of His grace to take us home if we have placed our trust in Him. It is never too late to accept Jesus Salvation for us.
There are so many things in this world that can happen- we can see God’s protection and provision every day when we get up and when we arrive home. Think of all the things that that didn’t happen: No one robbed you. No one shot you. You weren’t fired. Your arthritis didn’t flare up—or if it did, you made it through the day. A truck didn’t hit you. You weren’t rear-ended. No one scammed you on the Internet (though some people tried). Your identity wasn’t stolen (as far as you know). Your wife still loves you. Your husband is still happy to see you. You don’t have cancer—or if you do, you’re not dead yet. You’ve got your health (what there is of it), your friends (most of them, anyway), your money (maybe not as much as a three months ago but you’re not broke), your job (if you don’t get let go tomorrow), and on and on it goes. Think of all the bad things that could have happened to you today that didn’t. The fact that you think nothing happened today means that God has been doing his job! Thank-you God for redemption.
4. Coronation: “Who crowns you with love and compassion.” It’s the loyal, unending, unchanging love of God toward us. He heaps up his blessings—and then he pours them out on us.
He hears your prayer, and He answers- As He has compassion on us and his mercy is given- our thanks for those blessings must be uppermost in our hearts and minds. He loves us, not because we deserve it, but because He does! We are His creation, and He is not willing that any should perish but all have the chance to receive and to know Him. Our thanks to God whose love and compassion is new every morning!
5. Satisfaction: ” To be satisfied means to be so full that you need nothing else. It’s what happens at the end of Thanksgiving dinner when you simply cannot eat anything else. You have had two helpings of everything and even though there is more food on the table, you cannot eat any of it. If you are hungry, to be full like that is a wonderful sensation. But that satisfaction eventually wears off and you must eat again. To be satisfied means to be so full that you need nothing else.
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus desires that we have a ‘full life’ abundant and overflowing with His blessings! He says, “I want to satisfy you—not with gold but with good.” Not with those things which glitter today and are gone tomorrow
Clovis Chappell says that on the west coast of England there is the grave of a man who was much loved by all who knew him. When he died, these words were inscribed on his headstone. “Here lies a man who was satisfied with Jesus.” Chappell then adds this benediction: “If that can be said of us, we have sufficient to make all of time and eternity one great Thanksgiving Day.”
