Yesterday's post about walking the tightrope of the Christian life received many thoughtful comments, which I truly appreciate (hey, please feel free to keep the discussion going!). Today, however, I wanted to turn to the joyful part of Christian life. Really, Christians should be the most joyful people in life, even in the midst of trial, because we have so much to be thankful for - and we know Who to thank!
Psalm 103 has a lot to say about this:
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Well, why should we bless the Lord? Why should we always have a thankful attitude?
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Ah! So, there are benefits when we love and serve the Lord - there are things that He does, out of the goodness of His heart, because He loves His children:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
God forgives our sins. When we come to Him and accept the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf, when we trust Him and take Him at His Word, when we obey His righteous commandments, the Lord shows Himself strong on our behalf. Over and over and OVER again in the Bible we read of the Saints who have gone before, the Saints who waited patiently on the Lord for the Day of Christ, the Day of Salvation. No one in the Old Testament saw that Day - but we have. Instead of looking forward to what appears to be an uncertain future event, we look back to a specific day and time when God Himself accepted all our punishment in His own body and redeemed us from the slavery of sin.
The True Healer came and healed our greatest disease - completely and eternally.
Not only that, but He also bestows upon His children every good thing. The Lord God Almighty is the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills; He owns all the treasures of the Universe, and all the glory of Heaven. Out of the riches of His abundance, He blesses His children with all that they need, and so much that they desire.
With tenderness and love and kindness, our Father gives us strength and comfort, He lifts us up on wings like eagles'.
The LORD executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
God executes perfect justice. His children may rest assured that everyone will be judged righteously. Although we may not see the judgment here on earth - and, really, what business is it of ours that we must see judgment descending on our "enemies"? - we know that God Himself will take care of it. The omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God of all Creation will reveal all the motives of the heart, He will know all the extenuating circumstances. There will be nothing hidden from Him. And when we are judged by Him, every mouth will be stopped, because His judgement will be in absolute righteousness - and no one will be able to deny it.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
Our Father does not leave us in the dark, wondering what He wants of us. He has given His Word to guide and encourage us, and He has even given us His Spirit to live in us as our Comforter and Friend. His still, small voice is ever in our ear - we have only to be still and listen. His love and generosity are displayed to us a thousand ways each day, often in ways we don't even recognize!
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
Although we stumble and fail in our obedience, God still is merciful and loving. He forgives our sins and give us His strength to overcome them. He disciplines us as a loving, perfect Father, always intending our eternal good. Even though each sin we commit is an infinite crime against Him, He is still gracious and does not deal with us proportionately. Instead, His hand is ever stretched out in invitation and love: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
God does not give us what we do deserve, and He does give us what we don't deserve. He lifts us up out of the mire, removes us from the dominion of darkness, and transfers us to the solid Rock and the Kingdom of Light and Holiness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Did you ever think about how you can travel eastward forever, and never reach the west? If you travel north, eventually you will reach the North Pole and start heading south, but the same is not true for east and west. There is no "West Pole." When God takes your sins away, He takes them away! They're gone! His children stand before Him clothed in the perfect righteousness of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
As a father pities his children,
So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.
God knows we are frail and fallible. He knows we are weak. He knows all our sins before we even confess them to Him: He knows everything! Do you realize that when Jesus hung on the Cross, He knew about all your sins already? He knew about the ones you'd committed before you bowed down before Him, and He knew all the ones we'd commit after salvation.
He knows.
And you need to know that nothing you do can make Him love you more... And nothing you do can make Him love you less! God's love for His children is infinite and perfect and unchanging. He has set His heart upon you and you are the apple of His eye. He will never leave you nor forsake you, and He has prepared a place for you in Heaven at His side - and He's planned it that way from before He even created the heavens and the earth.
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children's children,
To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
God takes care of His own. In 2 Chronicles 16:9, God says that "...the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." God is actively looking for His children who are loyal to Him. God is looking for men and women after His heart, He is searching for those who want to be obedient.
Upon His children - and only upon His children - He lavishes His incredible mercy and grace. The Hebrew word I most love is (and I'll mangle typing it, I know) "hesed" (updated with this link, which is a good discussion of the meaning of "hesed"). God's wonderful "lovingkindness." Although God showers His common blessings over each and every person on this earth day after day, He reserves His best blessings and His enduring love upon His people, His Called-Out-Ones, His Saints.
The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.Bless the LORD, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
Bless the LORD, all you His hosts,
You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
Bless the LORD, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.Bless the LORD, O my soul!
And so, with all these blessings that God lavishes over us, how can we not raise our voices in gratitude and praise? How can we not rejoice in His love and providence? How can we resist making a joyful noise unto our Sovereign and Savior? Our adoration of His love, kindness, strength and goodness should make the universe reverberate with the echoes of our devotion and esteem!
So, my friends, what are you going to add to the chorus? Here's my list for the day:
- all my family woke up in good health
- my husband loves and cherishes me
- my family lives together in love, peace and respect
- I had safe travel dropping my Munchkin off for school
- my child is a joy to me every day, and her smile gives a loveburst to my heart
- excellent Bible teachers surround me at the click of a button
- Munchkin's school is a good, safe school that believes in real family values, and in right and wrong
- I have healthy knees to kneel on and sweep up the dust
- two lovely and snuggly purrs come and cuddle regularly
- a silly dog loves attention and makes me laugh
- friends - both on-line and off - are encouraging helpers every day
- I have quiet time to ponder and meditate on my blessings and needed changes in my life
- I have a lovely house and food on the table every day
- sunshine is streaming though my windows as I write this
- I can write and rejoice that my words may touch another's heart
- God have given me another day to praise and serve Him
- ...
Now, what are you waiting for? Join in and count all your blessings - even the mundane ones!
