Never Forget

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! [Psalm 103.1-5]

This passage of scripture gives quite a list of benefits we have in the LORD. It is a list most of us rarely tout or defend so as to avoid getting into 'doctrinal trouble' with a large portion of modern religion or drawing the ire of the Godless world. Consequently, we have largely forgotten the good things God does for us - exactly what the Psalmist instructed against in this his song.

So, God-followers are faced with a dilemma whether to proclaim God's goodness (as the Bible describes it) or not. We must consciously choose to declare Who God IS - regardless of whether we experience Him or not! We must remind ourselves Who He IS based on the record (the Bible) and not our experience. It is not about our experience because our experience is subject to our devotion to Him. If we do not meet His devotional demands, we will reap consequences for disobedience rather than His blessings. This is subsequently still true in Christ as well. If we do not actively trust Christ as our redeemer, we will reap consequences for disobedience rather than His blessings. And, because none of us are perfect, we will fail, and consequences will result. These consequences do not reveal God's character, but our own. If we wish to glorify God for Who He IS, then we must glorify Him for Who He says He IS and not what our experience of Him is (because our experience of Him could very well be discipline and not blessing!). If we assess Who God IS by our experience, then we have, in essence, made ourselves out to be gods. If, however, we assess Who God IS by the historical documentation that describes Him (the Bible), then we may accurately describe God!

It is worth indoctrinating ourselves with God's estimate of Himself rather than our experiential estimate of Him! If we indoctrinate ourselves with our experience, then we have missed the point that HE IS GOD!  Our experience should be viewed through this truth rather than this truth being viewed through our experience!

Like the Psalmist said, "May I never forget..."

Father, I realize that I must take responsibility to constantly remind myself that You are good and that Your faithful love endures forever! Regardless of my experience, I want You to find me declaring Your benefits!