Today's guest blogger is Stacie Gibson. Stacie is a wife and mom to four children in upstate New York. She serves alongside her husband Matt at Grace Baptist Church, Dansville NY where they both are certified biblical counselors. Stacie is certified with ACBC and IABC and loves sharing God’s Word with women. In her “free time” you will find her homeschooling her children, reading, and spending time with her family and church family.
Thanksgiving
is this week. I don’t know how that happened, but it’s approaching whether I am
ready or not. I love this time of year, but the hustle and bustle can cause me
to be gripe and complain. I would love to blame all the commercialization and
my full calendar for my poor attitude, but I can’t. My problem is within me.
For the
month of November, I have been doing a
30 day Bible study through Psalm 103. It has been a much needed study for me as
I am being reminded to “forget not all His benefits.” My heart is distracted right now as I am
trying not to forget all the things I have to do leading up to the holidays. I
have my shopping list for next week, my guest list, my regular to do list, and
I am starting to make out my Christmas shopping list. These are lists that are important to me
because I don’t want to forget anything.
In the meantime, my soul wonders away from the Lord and I forget what He
has done and all the benefits that I get to enjoy as His child. When I start to
forget, I become an unthankful person.
In Psalm 103,
David is urging his soul to bless the
Lord because even he understands how easy it can be to forget all that that
Lord has done. This particular Psalm has admonished my soul as I have been
confronted with my own pride and ungratefulness. My heart is already full of
these particular sins, but the holiday season can reveal them even more to me
and my loved ones. This may seem like a
bad thing, but this is God exercising His goodness towards me to show me areas
in my life I need to change. What my soul needs is a good pondering of all that
God has done.
Remembering
all the benefits that come from the Lord can bend our souls towards a heart of
gratitude and worship. Here are just some of the many ways the Lord blesses His
people:
- Forgives all your sin ( past,
present, and future)
- Heals all your diseases ( our
diseased soul)
- Redeems your life from the pit
- Crowns you with steadfast love and
mercy
- Satisfies you with good things
- Works righteousness and justice for
all who are oppressed
- He is merciful, gracious, slow to
anger and abounding in steadfast love
- Does not deal with us according to
our sins
- As far as the east is from the west,
He removes our transgressions
- Shows compassion to you
You and I
don’t deserve any of these benefits. But God who is rich and mercy because of
the great love in which He loved us, chose us to be recipients of these good
gifts. Remembering these benefits
should cause us to bless the Lord at all times, praising His name continually
in our mouths. Maybe you are fighting depression this time of year or you are
anxious because you have so much to do.
This time of year can bring about envy
towards those that have more than you do. Some people can just be plain
ungrateful because they indulge themselves in the things of this world and
forget to thank the One that gave them all they have. Whatever your situation, I
exhort you to contemplate this Psalm and all that the Lord has done for your
soul.
“Giving
thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name
of Jesus Christ.” ~Ephesians 5:20
Labels: Guest Blogger- Gibson