Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget 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 as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5
Psalm 103 made its way into my sermon this past weekend so I thought it might be a good idea to chew on it all week long. It is a psalm of thanksgiving. A song of celebration of life, health, and forgiveness. It reminds me of one of my favorite praise songs. Click here to hear it.
So what does it mean to “bless the Lord”? Isn’t there something backwards about that? I mean, aren’t we the ones who are always asking God to bless US? What does it mean for us to “bless the Lord”?
I ask the question and suddenly I’m reminded of the story in Luke 17 when Jesus heals ten lepers. He tells them to go show themselves to the priest. “Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.”
Maybe that story is all we need know about blessing God.
Look at the verbs all connected to God in these opening verses – God forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies, renews…
Isn’t that enough to turn us around and head back to give thanks?
Let us pray: To know we are loved, to know we are forgiven, to know you are working healing in us, to know that you rescue us from the Pit of our brokeness – for all of this, we thank you O God. Plant firmly in our minds today the benefits, the blessings, that you work in our lives each day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Daily Devotions 
November 9, 2015 at 5:20 pm |
Thank you for this devotion – today and for sharing the song. In our little town of 4500, this past week, we’ve had a suicide of a 16 year old citizen, the death of two elder statesmen and the developing story of crime and corruption in the sheriff’s office. This devotion helped me to realize that with all the turmoil, God is still the CEO of our lives and in the midst of it all, we can indeed be thankful.
November 9, 2015 at 7:33 pm |
Thank you for this devotion, it is beautiful and helpful in it simplicity. Thank you also for the link to the Praise Song. I had not heard that one before. Will try to find out if our Parish Music Team can get it to add to our list of songs & hymns. Thank you for writing the devotions again.
Bernice Heck,
Tolna, ND.
November 10, 2015 at 5:53 am |
Thank you for resuming your devotions. Our choir at Faith Lutheran, Faith, NC is singing 10,000 Reasons for the anthem on 11/15.
November 11, 2015 at 7:54 pm |
Thank you Reverend Kerry for sharing the song, “10,000 Reasons”.
Today’s devotion reminds us that we are indeed loved, forgiven, blessed and saved. We thank and praise God for His precious gift.