God Gives the Best Benefits

When a friend or family member finally lands a job in our current economic climate, after celebrating, one of our first questions is, "What benefits are you getting?"

Usually, the new employee's answer is detailed and complete. We have come to expect perquisites from our employers along with our regular salaries, such as pension plans, vacation pay, holiday pay, sick pay, maternity and paternity leaves, death benefits, and insurance. Since these benefits are advantageous to us and to our families, we find out exactly what we are being given.

Why then do we not ask our Christian friends and family, "What benefits has God bestowed on you?" And, if we did ask, how would they answer?

Psalm 103 specifically tells us "forget not all His benefits." Our Lord wants each and every one of us to fully know, to remember, and to discuss the advantages, provisions, and benevolences our precious LORD has bestowed upon us as His children. He wants us to inscribe His benefits on our hearts. We must remember!

If we intentionally choose to remember and talk about all that God has done for us, we would live encouraged, edified, positive, and peaceful existences every single day. We would be eager to praise Him. We would give Him the honor and glory He so rightly deserves!

Read the following aloud and slowly. Meditate on David's words.

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise His holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the people of Israel:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His love for those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on His children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him;
for He knows how we are formed,
He remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear Him,
and His righteousness with their children's children-
with those who keep His covenant
and remember to obey His precepts.
The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
and His kingdom rules over all.
Praise the LORD, you His angels,
you mighty ones who do His bidding,
who obey His word.
Praise the LORD, all His heavenly hosts,
you His servants who do His will.
Praise the LORD, all His works
everywhere in His dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Psalm 103

Then, make a list similar to the one I have placed here, so you might meditate upon just some of our eternal benefits:

• The Lord's name is holy and worthy of my praise!
• Because of Christ's death on the cross, His resurrection, and ascension, all of my sins are forgiven, and that means past, present, and future sins.
• He heals us - whether He heals us on this earth or takes us home to be with Him - we know He heals us perfectly.
• While I was His enemy, He saved me from the pit of hell.
• He bestowed His mercies, infinite grace, ultimate love, and compassion on me at the time of my salvation, and He continues to bless me abundantly every single day.
• He satisfies my needs according to His will, and His choices for me are exactly what I need, when I need them.
• If I live my life joyfully and peacefully in His will in all my circumstances, my body, mind, heart, and soul are renewed or rejuvenated on a daily basis.
• He is completely and perfectly just! No one can corrupt our Lord's decisions or His plan. He will deal with all situations and all people one day - we will each give an accounting of our lives. We can trust that He will mete out rewards equitably.
• He is not secretive. He wants us to know Him, just as He made His ways known to Moses and His deeds to Israel, His Word divulges who He is to us now.
• He is long-suffering and merciful. He is slow to anger, and His love continues to overflow.
• His love is so encompassing that while we were His worst enemies, He did not treat us as our sins deserve. All of us failed, and the wages of our sin was death, yet instead of sending us directly to hell, He sent His beloved, precious Son to be our sin. Jesus voluntarily accepted His Father's mission; He died the death we deserved. He became our ransom - He bought our freedom, our salvation, with His life. We were not repaid for our inequities as we so deserved. Our sins are forgiven infinitely to the east, and infinitely to the west!
• He lives beyond the three heavens we see - above our sky and atmosphere, above our moon, and above and beyond the sun, the stars, and the galaxies. His love is larger and beyond all of those heavens for those who revere and respect Him.
• He knows exactly how we were formed because He created us from dust. When He finished creating everything, He pronounced that it was "very good."
• We were created to be finite, with a beginning and an end. Our days on this earth have all been numbered by our dear infinite LORD.
• He is from everlasting to everlasting, and His love extends to us who fear Him and are obedient to His will, to our children, and our children's children. His love never fails, and it never ceases.
• The Lord's throne is established in heaven. He is our sovereign Lord, and His kingdom will come. It will be established here on earth, just as it is in heaven!
• Just as David said in Psalm 146:1, "Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul."

"Forget not all His benefits" because His are certainly the best!

Dear Heavenly Father,
May I take your charge to forget not your benefits seriously. May I remember that you loved me so much you kept me from the pit of destruction! You put all my sins behind your back (Isaiah 38:17). Refresh my heart, so I may praise you in my soul and live in a tranquility and peace that can only come from you. Your grace and mercy are almost beyond my comprehension, but remembering your benefits brings me closer to you. Your benefits are for my eternal health and well-being, not just my earthly health. May such meditation kindle a deeper love in me for you! Amen.