Psalm 103: 1 – 2 (AMP) “Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul, And all that is [deep] within me, bless His holy name. Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul, And do not forget any of His benefits;”
I am always so amazed when God speaks to me in unexpected places throughout my day. Last night, He chose to speak to me through one of the novels I’m currently reading. This book is about a woman who lives in the suburban area of Chicago and has been away from the Lord for quite some time. In the story, she attends a church service at a homeless shelter and at this particular point in the story, the author used the first two verses of Psalm 103 to convey her point. The words in those verses leapt so far off the page at me that I had to put down the book and grab my Bible to do some more digging. Psalm 103 verse 1 starts with “My whole being (my inmost being, my soul) praise the Lord; all my being (with everything that is within me), praise His Holy name.” David continues in verse 2 with “my whole being (oh my soul), Praise the Lord and do not forget all His kindnesses.” [the wording is different depending on the translation]
WOW! Did you catch that? Three times in two verses David is encouraging us to praise God with everything fiber of our being. To me that means we are to praise God in the way we live our lives, conduct business, talk to our spouse and children, and even the way we act when no one else is looking. I had to ask myself a tough question “Does everything I do bring praise to God?”
As I continued to read verses three and four, David writes “He (God) forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He (God) saves my life from the grave and loads me with love and mercy.” How cool is that? God will forgive our sins if we repent of them. That’s what His word promises. In Psalm 103, David says tells us there is more than just forgiveness of sins, there is also the part where “He heals all my diseases.”
When you think about the word “disease” what do you think about? I know for me, its cancer and heart disease because these diseases have affected my family. Other than common diseases such as these, have you ever thought about the other “diseases” in our lives that need healing? You know, diseases such as anger, bitterness, unforgivess, rejection, grief, denial, and rebellion. This list could go on and on and on.
I had to ask myself the question again. What disease in my life is holding me back from living the life God has planned for me? Yikes! When I look at the word “disease” that way, I have some “sickness” to overcome. But I will not let my “disease” define me. God desires for me (and for you too) to live a life of prosperity and peace.
I know I can draw on God’s love and mercy, because His word tell me I can. As I spend some time looking at things in my life that hold me back from all God has in store for me, may I encourage you to do the same. I will be seeking God’s forgiveness and His strength walk through the process of healing. I know I won’t be able to stand in my own strength; I will have to rely on His.
We all need to repent of “diseases” that hinder our relationship with Christ so that our entire being can bring honor and praise to Him. After we have repented, we have His love, mercy, and strength to help us STAND FIRM while we’re being renewed and transformed.
It’s rather odd don’t you think? Let’s get real for just a moment, how “inconvenient” can it really be at 4:30 in the morning? That morning, I had two hours to fit in my quiet time and post to my blog. There was still had plenty of time, yet I felt impatient. For some reason I felt like I didn’t “have time” to spend the extra time cleaning up after the dog. I wanted to be doing something else. Wasn’t what I wanted to do better than cleaning up the mess? It was in this very thought God spoke to me “it’s in the little things I’m working out the bigger things.”
I attend a church where we gather on Sunday mornings for a regular church service, then during the week, smaller groups gather in members’ homes. These groups are typically 8 – 10 (sometimes more) adults who meet for a little fellowship and Bible study. Honestly, it’s in the smaller group setting that I’ve been personally challenged to work on the areas of my life that are not of Christ. The relationships I’ve found through these groups are the most genuine friendships I’ve ever had in my life. I can tell these people anything without fear of it being “front page news” the next day. I can be honest and real and even downright raw in front of them. It’s in those real moments that my life has changed, and my faith in Christ has grown.
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