Psalm 107:1-3 New American Standard Bible 1995
BOOK 5
The Lord Delivers Men from Manifold Troubles.
107 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
3 And gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the [a]south.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Beauty Lost and Restored
One way for us to understand the beauty that God created is to understand its opposite: the ugliness, sorrow which comes from being separated from God.
Because of our sin, this world is not the way it ought to be.
Sin has brought hardship and ugliness into our lives and into this world, though God designed it all to be beautiful.
We know that God has restoration in mind because we don’t feel “at home” in a world broken because of sin.
We are homesick for a world of peace and beauty.
We are homesick to be with God.
When we’re stuck in brokenness and facing the ugliness of this world of sin, we feel homesick for God’s world of goodness and beauty.
Psalm 107 points out the sorrow and longing of this homesickness.
The world can feel like a wasteland, providing no place where people can rest, no place where they can settle and be at peace.
But the Lord, whose “love endures forever,” (verse 1) offers redemption.
The Lord hears his people cry out in their trouble caused by sin, and he delivers them from distress.
God brings them to a place where they can settle and live in peace.
“He satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry with good things.”
Psalm 107:7-9 New American Standard Bible 1995
7 He led them also by a [a]straight way,
To go to [b]an inhabited city.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His [c]wonders to the sons of men!
9 For He has satisfied the [d]thirsty soul,
And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.
From throughout the Psalms, ultimately we know that all of life’s goodness and beauty will be restored when Jesus comes again, and, all of our thanks be unto God, the new life he provides us even now gives us hope for eternity with God.
Psalm 23 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd,
I [a]shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside [b]quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the [c]paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no [e]evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [f]have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 [g]Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will [h]dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.
Tilling the Soils of Our Hearts: Thankfulness
Thankfulness is one of the most powerful tools in making our hearts both soft to the seed of God’s word and filled with abundant joy.
Thanksgiving aligns our thoughts and emotions with the reality of God’s goodness in a world wrought with lies about the character of God.
It breeds joy and trust rather than entitlement and negativity.
With each declaration of thankfulness you dig a shovel into the hard, rocky soil of your heart and churn it over until it becomes receptive to the fullness of God and filled with the fruit of the Spirit.
The Bible is laden with commands to be thankful.
Ephesians 5:20 tells us to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
But my favorite command on thankfulness is Psalm 107:1, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”
You see, it’s important to understand that the Bible doesn’t suggest that we give thanks, but rather commands us to always be thankful.
And in God’s command he reveals his heart.
We learn in Psalm 107 that our thankfulness is meant to be a response to the steadfast love of our heavenly Father.
Thankfulness is meant to be the overflow of remembering, encountering and mulling over how our God is abundantly faithful and filled with unconditional love for us.
I used to read Scripture commanding me to be thankful and think,
“Sorry God, I know I need to be more thankful. I know I’m so provided for and loved. I’m sorry for not thanking you more.”
But after meditating on Psalm 107:1, I realized that my lack of thankfulness is a symptom of not spending enough time encountering God’s wonderful character rather than a core issue in and of itself.
Tilling the soil of my heart through thankfulness requires that I set aside time to simply experience God’s goodness and love. Because everything he does is by grace, my natural response to his character will always be one of thanksgiving.
Take time today to reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father. Allow his goodness to cause great thankfulness to well up within you.
May your time in guided prayer be filled with truly transformational encounters with God, may they cultivate good soil that bears the fruit of an abundant life.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Guided Prayer:
1. Reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah 40:28
“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30
“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, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5
2. Now respond to God’s character with thankfulness.
Take Scripture and thank God for who he is.
Look at your life and thank God for any good gifts he’s given you. Allow his goodness to stir up thankfulness within you.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1
3. What changed in your heart as you engaged in thanksgiving?
Journal about the power of thankfulness. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see how God is at work in your life today and offer thanksgiving in response.
If you start to feel your heart begin to harden because of something that happens today, simply reflect on the goodness of God and give thanks.
Negativity and sin have an incredibly harmful effect on our hearts.
Decide to put away any form of slander, impurity and anything negative at all, and instead focus on the goodness of what God is doing.
Choose to love today and align your thoughts and emotions with faith and trust in who God is.
To walk in relationship with God is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit at all times.
If you get off track for a bit, simply ask the Spirit to lead you back to the perspective and posture of heart he desires for you!
God’s grace is abounding and powerful.
He longs to walk in relationship with you all day today.
May your day be filled with peace, joy and a passionate pursuit of bringing his kingdom to earth all around you.
Lord, we feel alone and homesick for you and for your peace when we struggle with the hurt and brokenness of this world. Pray! Bring us all near to you, we pray. Amen.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 