Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the Lord, my soul!
Everything in me, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, my soul,
And forget none of his benefits!
He forgives all your offenses,
He heals all your diseases,
He redeems your life from the pit,
He surrounds you with grace and compassion,
He contents you with good as long as you live,
So that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

- Psalm 103:1-5

Do you sometimes feel like you’re stuck in the mud? Just stuck in a dirty, messy place and that you’ll never be able to get out of it? Sometimes all we need to do when we’re feeling down is look up to the One Who made us.

In this psalm King David begins by commanding his soul to bless and praise the Lord. I think he had a really good idea there. It’s usually not good enough for us to wait until we feel like praising God – we simply have to do it. That could mean spending time with Him in prayer, spending time in the Word, praising Him with song, or worshipping Him by being obedient to His will. Do you need a reason to praise Him? King David gives us a few of them right here!

He forgives all your offenses. He heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the pit. He surrounds you with grace and compassion. He contents you with good as long as you live. If you are in Christ, then you truly do have all of these benefits. You might not see the full fruition of these things in your life yet, but in Christ they are yours. And why does He give you these benefits? So that your youth can be renewed like an eagle’s. I don’t know about you, but having my youth renewed sure sounds like a good deal!

I’ll be honest with you. Sometimes in this life it seems that we will never attain all of the benefits that God has promised us. But when I start questioning God’s sincerity or His will I have to stop myself and ask a big question. Whose standards am I measuring God by – the world’s or the Word’s? There’s a huge difference. In this life we sometimes get wrapped up in wanting more stuff, more money, a bigger house, more, more, more! But we must be very careful not to gauge our “success” with God in these terms. Rather I would ask – do you have peace in your heart, in your home, in your emotions? Are you free from fear because you have an intimate relationship with the One Who made you? Instead of using the world’s yardstick, dive into the Word and grab God’s measure instead. And remember…

He forgives… He heals… He redeems… He surrounds you... He contents you…

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