1
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
2
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
3
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5
who satisfies you with good as long as you live[a]
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:1-5
This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. We have been talking about thanksgiving by using an acrostic of the word “thanks.” Now we are going to switch to praising God through the eyes of Psalm 103. The psalm admonishes us to bless the Lord. I think that means praise. Praise comes when I focus on the good in any situation and don’t focus on the negative. So what does the writer focus on about God?
God forgives us our failures. Surely we can think of ways we failed this year and fell short of who we wanted to be or whom we thought we were.
God heals our diseases. Perhaps we do not have a medical condition that needs medicine but we all have moral problems that challenge us. Perhaps we struggle with desire or despair, with low self image or pride. God helps us in all our battles.
God redeems. Redeems buying back that which might seem lost. God not only helps us in our failures but he helps us learn from mistakes and turn them into victories. It might be like learning from our mistakes so we finally pass that driver’s test or finally develop the stamina to run a marathon or maybe even learn to forgive that person who irritates us so much.
The psalm says we are crowned, not with material substances like gold and silver. God crowns us with love and mercy. When the day feels too long and too dark to cope with, we can remember that we are loved by God and he is merciful when we fall short of our goals.
Ultimately we are being renewed like an eagle. Renewal hints of the promise of restoration. Because of our relationship with God we have hope, hope for forgiveness, for healing, for redemption, for a crown and for restoration. Those are for sure things we can be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
On the Way to Wonder 