March 14, 2018 Wednesday

“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons —  Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High, Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two.” (Psalm 107:8-16 NKJV)

            One of my favorite hymns is “Count Your Blessings”.

Count your blessings, name them one by one

Count your blessings, see what God has done

            The Psalmist is counting the many blessings the people of Israel have received from God and calling them to remember and to give thanks. The Psalmist cries out:

“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!”

            There is a tone of either desperation or despair that people do not see God’s many blessings or that they refuse to give thanks to God for them.  The Psalmist even gives us reminders of what we should give thanks to God for.

            An amazing thing about the remembrance of the blessings is also the reminder of how undeserving to receive them we are!  Blessings from God which are not recognized bring us to affliction and cause our fall even after we have come to Jesus.

            YET, if we cry out to God and admit our need God will break our chains and set us free!  God will save us from our distress, the darkness in our lives and even death.

            When we realize we are so undeserving of any good thing from God we are humbled and become able to give thanks.  We are forced to recognize our need for God’s blessings and salvation.  We are forced to recognize our dependence upon God.

            Maybe that is why in the midst of defeat and grief at the loss of so many lives President Lincoln called for a day of Thanksgiving?  Maybe having to recognize we are so undeserving and in need is why it is so hard to give thanks?

            It is a little better today but as the legs seems a little better my toes tag team and now they hurt badly.  The weariness causes my mind to struggle with reading and speaking clearly.  My memory seems to struggle and not just with the more recent memories but also with the past.  Bonnie took her mom to the doctors and Rebecca went to group but I was ok.  I feel so bad for them because they want to help but there really isn’t anything they can do.  I know how hard it is to not be able to stop the pain or do anything to help.  But their love and concern are a blessing in itself.  The God who bore this pain on the cross strengthens me and reminds me that all this comes under His grace.