A Devotional for Wed. 11/27/24 by Faith Sherrer
RECEIVE and REFLECT: I have always struggled with discontentment and wanting. I want more than I have, and I struggle to feel satisfied with my life or who I am. While God has grown me in this area, I still need a lot of help from Him. He regularly reminds me that the enemy, the devil, loves to speak lies to me. But the following Bible verses have refreshed and satisfied my soul. I hope you find the same encouragement from them.
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 forget not 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 so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
–Psalm 103:1-5.
Such beautiful verses! The first verse starts with the correct heart posture: looking to God and blessing Him. When we bless His name, which is His character and nature, we bless God because of who He is. We must always start with this posture because God should be the center of our affection, not the things He blesses us with. The verse says, “O my soul, and all that is within me.” This is referring to the deep outcry of our inner self -- our soul should be crying out in love for Him! Once our heart is in the right state of worship, we can thank Him for what He has done for us.
Verse 2 invites us to remember what He has done in our lives, saying, “Forget not all His benefits.” I also invite you to ponder quickly what God has done in your life. What wonderful gifts has he given you? Has He given you peace or joy? Has He provided tangibly for you in miraculous ways? Has He given you a shoulder to cry on or a friend to laugh with? If we give ourselves space to remember regularly what He has done, we are less likely to forget.
Verse 3 and the beginning of verse 4 are especially impactful, reminding us of all Jesus has done! Jesus Christ has brought us salvation through His suffering on the cross. Jesus forgives us of our many sins and heals us from all diseases, most importantly, the disease of sin. If we have surrendered to Christ Jesus, our sins have been wiped out in the past and for tomorrow. Thankfully, He also gives us power over our sins for today.
JESUS Redeems our life from the pit - this is a reference to hell. Hell is a real place and through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, He offers saving. HE ALONE can accomplish these things. If that’s not worth celebrating, I don’t know what is. Thank you, Jesus.
Verses 4 and 5 go on to say He crowns us with steadfast love and mercy and satisfies us with good. Not only does God save our souls but the cherry on top is that He cares so, so deeply for us. He wants to bless us, shower us with good and beautiful gifts, including His renewing strength! If you’ve ever received a wonderful gift, you know, you just can’t stop being thankful. I have been just overwhelmed, recently, by God’s goodness in giving me and my husband our first child. What’s crazy is God loves me the same way I love my baby (and more). I want you to know that God sees you like that. He LOVES you. He DELIGHTS in you.
God has satisfied my soul today, reflecting on this passage. My prayer for you is that God would bring your heart to overwhelming joy and gratitude in Him too.
RESPOND: Record how God has provided for you in today’s Gratitude Journal entry.