Good things

“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:1-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Good things

In the beginning of the day, as the sun rises, it is great to reflect on the good things the Lord has done. In these perilous times, I find myself engulfed at times by a critical spirit, filling me with bitterness, and drawing me away from the Lord. It is the weapon of the evil one, honed and refined for its effectiveness against me, and me alone.

I praise God that He is ahead of anything the evil one can bring, for He has given me His word. Each day I open my bible and somewhere in my reading is just the Scripture I need, fitly written and directly applicable to the needs of my soul.

The Lord gives us good things.

Reading Psalm one hundred three this morning, was restorative, reminding me of the lover of my soul, the God/Man who went to the cross for my sins, and died instead of me. He took the nails and exchanged them for blessings.

Oh bless the Lord! He forgave all my iniquities, the ones from the past, the ones present, and the ones to come. He gave His life in exchange for mine, and has given me eternity with Him. In Jesus, I have redemption and I have transformation, as He is making me new, day by day.

Brothers and sisters, let us rejoice daily in all the great things the Lord has done, for He is faithful and true. Let us not take for granted the simple pleasure, the good moments with which He has blessed us.

I awakened in my own bed this morning, under my own roof, all provided by the Father for my blessing. There are many who do not have such things, for they awaken in homelessness, in open air, and in the case of Ukraine in a darkened basement, if they have the chance to awaken at all.

I look at my life and wonder what I would be like had I not encountered Jesus, if the Holy Spirit had not sought me relentlessly, convicting me of my need for Him. I know that the Lord saved me from destruction. We are surrounded by people whose lives are lived on the edge of the abyss. May we be faithful to go and tell the stories of our own rescue, of how the God who brings good things rescued us from ourselves, and established us on the road to heaven.

“The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalms 103:6-12 NKJV

The world needs the grace of God, the sense that there is hope beyond this world. We are peoples of every stripe who have been delivered from the oppression of sin, that brutal task master, that destroys us slowly, and deceives us into thinking that it all feels so good.

But the Lord is not like that, for He saves us and convicts us of our sin. He is our Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord Our Righteousness, refining us through our trials and experiences, that we reflect Jesus and be effective and accurate ambassadors as we take the Good News to all who will hear.

Even when we are lost, He is patient. I think of the twenty seven years I wallowed in sin, caring little for the Caring Savior who wanted to save my soul. The Lord’s mercy is boundless. Let us fear the Lord, acknowledging that He holds our very souls and spirits in His hands. Let us rejoice over His even more boundless grace.

“As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them.”
Psalms 103:13-18 NKJV

As I draw closer to my end, I rejoice in the nearness of God, of His knowledge of me, that He knows that I am but dust. Though my mistakes are fewer, I still make them, but I have come to know my Lord intimately, and that knowledge has given me great peace.

Even though I have more days behind than before, I look forward to everlasting to everlasting, and the new world He will create where all who fear Him will reside with Him.

My people, let us look forward to the glory we will know the Father and the Son, and let us look forward when we will bask in the light of them that established eternity, saved our souls that we may dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

“The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure. Bless the Lord, all His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!”
Psalms 103:19-22 NKJV

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