Walking With Christ
Monday, August 29
Walking With Christ
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:1-2
Walking with Christ in a daily glorious relationship provides benefits that go far beyond anything this world has to offer. In the Old Testament Psalm 103 describes some of the benefits we can expect. It begins, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:1-2, ESV).
David had clearly faced many troubles in his life: harassment, sin, disease and ‘the pit’. Yet he, like the apostle Paul never ceases to give praise to God for all that He is. Join them in praise for so many of God’s benefits.
Why? Psalm 103:3 gives us the solid reason. God forgives all your sins. It says ‘He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities’ (v.10). Further down we read ‘as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us’ (v.12). This is one of the great benefits. Every day, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to gift us again with his righteousness. He provides us with the power of the Holy Spirit, giving us great strength so that our lives do not have to continue in its sinful patterns.
We also know the benefit of healing (v.3). Although God sometimes heals in different ways than we’ve asked for and on a different timetable, he does heal.
God redeems, He loves, and He satisfies. God redeems our lives from the pit—from self-centeredness which throws us into the downward spiral of covetousness. God loves us ‘for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him’ (v.11). And He satisfies our soul!
God showers us with so many benefits; Psalms could never hold them all.