God's Benefits

 Psalm 103:2

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits"

      Does your prayer life or daily talk with God ever leave out praise?  We can often be filled with desires, wants and needs from God, but forget to praise Him for his abundant goodness.  We are so blessed by Him everyday that we should give Him ceaseless thankfulness.  

          In Psalm 103, David tells himself to 'bless he Lord' six times and 'not to forget all of God's benefits'.  This blog is a reminder of the godly benefits that we sometimes forget or overlook in our lives. "The Lord’s “benefits” represent all the good things the Lord provides to aid or promote the well-being of His children."  [gotquestions.org]

          In Deuteronomy, Moses warned the people that forgetting God's benefits and goodness was the first step to spiritual destruction.   Deuteronomy 4:9  "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them."

God's benefits are too numerous to count, but here are a few....

Psalm 103:3-6  "He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.  He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things.  My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly."

How wonderful to be cleared of all our wrongs!  How great is it to know that death isn't a fear and his love is fullof grace and mercy.  How awesome will it be to have our youthful energy and vigor again.  How great will it be to have our wrongs against us by others to be truly righted.

Colossians 1:13-14  " For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom* and forgave our sins."

How wonderful is God's forgiveness and that Jesus paid the painful price for our wickedness.  We are set free from our sin debt and can live in God's kingdom.

Psalm 63:3-4  "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.  So I will bless you, as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands."

How awesome is God's mercy and grace that it is better than the life we know. We should honor God all the days of our lives, as long as we have breath.

Psalm 103:8  "The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."

How wonderful is God to be so patient and understanding with His children and shows His love over the course of our lives.

Hebrews 2:1-3  " Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.  For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

Paul warns us of not forgetting what we know to be true from all the evidence given to us, regarding our forgiveness and salvation.  God's will has allowed us to  know all we need to know for now, and that's enough.

As for myself, I can see, in hindsight, how much God has blessed my life in so many ways.  My trust in Him has been proven over and over.  Therefore, I fully trust Him with my future and eagerly await joining and walking with Jesus in eternity.