Those words are from Psalm 103:2,
forget not -- remember -- how God benefits us. Let's consider
some of the ways:
God gave us life -- we are fearfully and wonderfully made the
scriptures tell us. Life is the first benefit.
Awareness of that life the second -- that we can see, hear, taste,
smell, and feel -- that we can process all those perceptions by
thinking, and that we have the ability to be objective about ourselves
are other things to remember. These are things very basic to
our life and we assume them to be givens. One handicap in any
of those areas makes life somewhat more difficult. My blind
sister remarkably adapted to her blindness, yet her lack of sight was a
definite handicap. We can take our senses and these other
basics of life so for granted. We don't posess any of these
because of anything we've done. Instead they are ours because
of what the great Designer, Creator God has done.
We are constantly sustained by that which God provides. Air
to breathe, water to drink, living food which is so incredibly diverse
in types, shape, texture, and taste. These are all benefits
to remember AND to thank God for. Remembering all His
benefits and thankfulness to God go hand in hand.
Are there other benefits to remember? He, in the person of
Jesus Christ, has cleared a path of relationship for us with
Him. He has given us a guide book -- the Bible -- which
reveals to us who and what He is. It gives us guidance in the
Way to live -- in participation and harmony with Him and each other.
Are there benefits? You bet!
Here's all of Psalm 103:2 continuing through verse 5:
"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who
forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your
life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who
satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed
like the eagle's."
God is good to us. Let's remember that and thank Him for His
goodness.
The next question we might have is WHY? Why does God want us
to remember His benefits to us? Does he need our
acknowledgement of those blessings, our thanks, or anything else from
us? Is He the great Ego in the sky needing to be preened by
our obeisance to Him? No, God needs nothing from
us. It is terribly arrogant and really silly of us to think
that we created beings can fill any needs of our Creator. And
even though God is the great, "I AM," that name does not indicate ego
but rather his eternal self-existence. God is love, and that
means He exists to give, to care, to nourish, to strengthen -- all from
His desire that we have the greatest fullness of existence that's
possible. So, to answer the question, "Why does God want us
to remember His benefits to us?," we look to whom and what
God is and recognize that it is for our own good -- for our own
continued benefit -- that we stay connected to "The Source" of all
those benefits. In other words, it's important to us that we
don't forget God's benefits. It's important to God that we
remember His benefits only because it's for our good, and He is
concerned about that.
God's love, care, and concern for us are the greatest benefits to
remember. Thanks be to such a loving God for being the way HE
IS.
Praise the Lord, O my soul! |
