Psalm 103:1-2 “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.”
The hustle and bustle of our days can often create ‘life noise’ that drowns out our recollection of God’s work in our lives. Sometimes it is not the day-to-day routine that overwhelms our peace in Christ, it is the ‘giants’ we are facing which distract us and cause us to turn our eyes from Him: ‘giants’ such as financial issues, health issues, family relations issues, to name just a few.
We were created to work and to raise a family, therefore the hustle and bustle of life is not wrong or inherently evil. We were entrusted, by God’s grace, to wrestle with major challenges, so that our faithful living in these trails can give glory to God. So the issue is not ‘the issues’…the issue is our focus: is it on us and our surroundings or is it on the Lord? The psalmist made it clear what our response should be in these situations.
This morning I want to encourage each of us to “forget not His benefits.” Reflecting on God and all He has done will bring perspective to our challenges and priority to our activities.
I’ll get us started and then you fill in the blanks…
• Salvation, so rich and free,
• Immediate audience with the God of the universe and the only one able to deal with each and every trial in our lives,
• Brothers and sisters in Christ who love us and are our family,
• A purpose far beyond the temporary accomplishments of wealth or power or prestige,
• Eternal life and mansions in glory,
• Our Abba, Father…
•
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me BLESS HIS HOLY NAME!
Monday, September 13, 2010
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Thanks Jim for your thoughts. Your blog reminds me of that peppy little children's song to "Count your blessings, name them one by one..." It's a good reminder today to end the pity party and instead celebrate the many blessings that the good Lord provides.
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