Often when my husband and I return home after spending a fun-filled day doing a special activity with our two daughters, we take time to reflect on the day in order to document the many blessings that we have enjoyed. We find that by doing this, our family dwells more on how God has blessed us and not on what we may have missed. This little exercise helps us recognize more of the benefits of God that we have in our lives for which to be thankful.
God in His Word has provided us with tremendous benefits that add to our well-being in all categories of life. We will look at some of the benefits that God has given us and see His desire for us not to forget all of them. Then we’ll look at how God blessed Moses and how He blesses us today as His sons in the Grace Administration. We’ll see how counting our blessings helps us maintain a positive attitude and recognize God’s benefits in our lives. Having a knowledge of God’s blessings makes us able to more fully appreciate them, allowing us to live with greater thankfulness in our hearts.
God’s Word is filled with promises and benefits that God has already given us to enrich our lives. It is to our advantage to know as many of them as possible. Psalm 103 provides a good starting point for us in our quest to gain more knowledge of the benefits of God. Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille wrote a chapter in God’s Magnified Word called “The Benefits of God.” The chapter begins, “Psalm 103 is a tremendous example of knowledge and praise. Just the reading of it thrills the heart of anyone who loves God. The beauty with which this is set just from a human point of view, without even thinking of its spiritual impact, should set at peace the soul of any man or woman.”
Psalms 103:1 and 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.
In these verses, David the psalmist expressed his heart of thankfulness to God as he took the time to recognize the many ways God had blessed him. He used everything in his power and ability to bless the Lord. With everything that is within us, from hearts of thankfulness, we too can bless the Lord in our daily walk.
Verse 2 encourages us not to forget all His benefits. A benefit is something that adds to our lives. One dictionary definition of “benefit” is “something that promotes well-being.” Benefits add to our lives and promote our well-being. So, we don’t forget all God’s benefits—we remember some of them.
This reminds me of a children’s television show that our two daughters watch from time to time. One thing I like about this program is that when an episode is wrapping up, the main character asks the viewers what their favorite part of the show was. I like to listen to our girls answer, clearly and loudly saying what they liked the most.
We can do this little exercise with our day, too. With all that we do in one day, it is available to remember what we enjoyed or a victory we won as we applied God’s Word. We see that God is very tender toward us by asking us not to forget all His benefits, instead of asking us to remember them all. This inspires us to dwell on the positive side of life and to bless the Lord with our whole heart.
Psalms 68:19 says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits,…Selah.” God loads us with benefits every day by way of His wonderful promises to us. The following verses in God’s Word show some of the practical benefits with which God blesses us.
Psalms 103:3:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities [sins]….
God’s forgiveness is essential to our walk because it helps us to move ahead, leaving the past behind. We remind ourselves of the promises of God’s Word, including what Jesus Christ accomplished for us so that we can have fellowship with God. We can therefore have this assurance to come boldly before God, confident that He is faithful and just to forgive our broken fellowship (I John 1:9). When we ask for forgiveness, we are brought back in alignment and harmony with Him, which is fellowship. The joy of knowing that God forgives us when we ask takes pressure off our minds, which is a great benefit to our lives.
Psalms 103:3:
…who healeth all thy diseases.
God takes care of us in many different ways. No matter what kind of healing or deliverance we may need, physically or mentally, God is more than willing to provide. We go to God’s Word to find the specific verses that address our need, and we claim the promises that God has made available. We remind ourselves that through Jesus Christ’s accomplishments, we were healed; and we thank God for the deliverance….
This is an excerpt from the September/October 2006 issue of The Way Magazine.
Copyright© 2006 by The Way International. All rights reserved.
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