Psalm 103:1-5 (NIV)

Of David

1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Reflection:

“Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits…!” You can almost feel the deep sense of joy and gratitude that the psalmist is trying to express with every single word. He doesn’t want to praise God on just a superficial level, but with all of who he is, and from the deepest places of his heart. Likewise, when we see and know the wonderful things that God has done for us, we too are to erupt with this sense of joyful life of consuming praise. Not merely worshipping with God with small compartments of our lives, but with every single thing. This does not only cover our physical being but everything that our lives touch: work, school, family, etc. He is the One who has forgiven us of every terrible thing we have ever done, and He healed the diseases that plagued our lives for so long. How else could we respond, but to give all of who we are? Let’s praise the Lord!

Response:

God truly is the One who has worked through the many situations that we have gone through in this life in order to bring us into a life of knowing Him. Therefore, after a time of reflecting on the things He has rescued you from, spend some time praising Him and declaring what He has done. This can be with a simple song, a short prayer, or even a poem, but whatever it is let’s do it with all of our hearts and richly offer up our lives again. Praise the Lord!