Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. To Him who alone does great wonders, for His lovingkindness is everlasting; to Him who made the heavens with skill, for His lovingkindness is everlasting; to Him who spread out the earth above the waters, for His lovingkindness is everlasting; to Him who made the great lights, for His lovingkindness is everlasting: the sun to rule by day, for His lovingkindness is everlasting, the moon and stars to rule by night, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Who remembered us in our low estate, for His lovingkindness is everlasting, and has rescued us from our adversaries, for His lovingkindness is everlasting; who gives food to all flesh, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.^[1]

How easy it is to forget just how much our Heavenly Father loves us, especially in an age and time when there is more than enough for one to wonder whether the God we serve truly cares. No one is immune from the more than whimsical notion that God must surely be disinterested in His creation otherwise our world would not be in the condition it is. Most know the frustration of living through see nothing days, that time between our cry to the Lord and the receipt of our answer. It is in moments like these that one finds themselves susceptible to the wiles of the enemy of our soul causing us to doubt our God’s deep and abiding love.

But long before Jesus was incarnate of the Holy Spirit in a feeding trough in Bethlehem, the Psalmist wrote this magnificent psalm extoling the manifold benefits of ‘good’ God. When one begins to take inventory of the marvelous things that our God has done His loving kindness cannot be denied. It is easy to accentuate negative we encounter that serves to only diminish the great and wonderful things we daily receive. In truth the great and wonderful things we receive far outweigh the negative, but we often will not see it until we begin to take inventory of them. One of the great hymns of the church from a by-gone era suggested, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.” The Psalmist said, “Give thanks to the God of Heaven, for is lovingkindness is everlasting.” Let us take both of their suggestions starting today!!

Lord, we don’t understand why you love us so, but are are so glad that You do. Everywhere we turn, everywhere we look, everything we hear, everything we feel dramatically demonstrates just how much You love us. Fill our hearts this day with such gratitude that it will drown out the noise of doubt and unbelief. Give us the capacity to name our blessings and number them one by one that we might be wonderfully surprised to see all that You have done. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ps 136:1-9, 23-26.