Telescopes or Microscopes - Pt 2

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 ESV).

As we continue to make our way to Thanksgiving I want to encourage you to be thankful in every circumstance. In fact, we should take our example from the Apostle Paul, who told the Ephesians they should plead with God to open the eyes of their hearts that they might know, that is, really know and feel the hope to which he had called them, and what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in all who believe (cf. Ephesians 1:18-19). But even when God graciously removes the scales from our eyes so we can be moved by his greatness, we are still prone to quickly forget what we have seen. Haven't you all had experiences like I have in which you feel the goodness and faithfulness of God so intensely that you leap in the air and shout and hug your kids or hug somebody and say, "O God, how could I ever doubt you after this? How could I ever again despair of your help?" And then some short time later you find yourself doing just that, discouraged, and feeling no confidence in the goodness and greatness of God. This happens because we are so prone to forget the evidences of God's goodness which we ourselves have experienced, not to mention the evidences in Scripture. This is what David is saying in our reading today. He is calling all of us to be mindful of all the deeds of the Lord; to remember the wonders of old. David wants us to meditate on all of God’s work, and muse on His mighty deeds. We are called to be telescopes: people who make the greatness of God seem as great as it really is. This is what it means for a Christian to magnify God. But you can't magnify what you haven't seen or what you quickly forget. Therefore, our first task is to see and to remember the greatness and goodness of God. The answer for that need is in prayer: "Open the eyes of my heart," and we encourage our souls, "Soul, forget not all his benefits!" Perhaps it’s time for each us to search through our memories for all of those blessings. This ought to include the painful, difficult times that served to refine us into clearer reflections of our great God. That’s not easy, but it is the way to true gratitude!