“Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103: 3-5).

Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. We are so grateful to You for every blessing we have received from Your bountiful hand! You have blessed us more than we could ever have hoped for. Your mercies have been new every morning! So we give You thanks and praise! Please help us to be willing to share our blessings with others. In the matchless name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen

Happy Thanksgiving! I pray that you all had a wonderful day with family and friends, sitting around and remembering everything you have to be thankful for! The beauty of remembering the things that God has done for us, is that it helps us to keep our focus on how good God is, and not on the unpleasant things that are a part of the world we live in!

When someone asks me how I am, I usually respond, “I am blessed, and so are you.” Does that mean I have never had a bad moment! Hardly! It simply means that I have decided to count my blessings, in spite of the bad moments.

Does it mean that I am being insensitive to you when I say, “and you are too”? Not at all (I may not even know about your troubles)! It simply means that I do not want you to forget that you are blessed, in spite of your troubles!

You see my friends, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). So speak what you want to happen in your life, as if it was already so! Positive speech does as much for you, as for others who hear it!

In this Psalm David is making known to others what great things God has done for us:

Forgives all [our] iniquities. When we realize that our iniquities are not just “missing the mark,” but willfully, consciously, doing what is wrong, and our Heavenly Father is willing to forgive us, and give us another opportunity to get it right, how blessed we are! How thankful we should be!

Heals all [our] diseases. Sickness is so common place in our world today, that it seems as if the greatest portion of insurance coverage if for medication! And in March of 2020, our world was transformed into a universal hospital. All of a sudden mass graves, became the norm rather than the exception. And yet, in the midst of it all, so many were healed, even among the most vulnerable members of society; because the Great Physician walked through the streets, and entered homes, and hospitals, and healed our diseases! Thank You, Jehovah-Rapha!

Who redeems [our lives] from destruction. How many of us can testify to this fact! When parents, and teachers, and doctors, and counselors, had done all that they could do; when all seemed lost, when some had hit rock bottom, then the Savior took over. And in the dry and desert place of our existence, God did a new thing, and dry bones began to connect and mend, and many, who were considered socially, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, even physically dead, came alive, and walked away from an old life. saying, “There lies __________, but for the grace of God!”

Who crowns [us] with lovingkindness and tender mercies. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:13-15). He calls us friends! And “He is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother”  (Proverbs 18:24, emphasis provided). 

The songwriter puts it to music in this refrain: “No one ever cared fo me like Jesus, There’s no other friend so kind as He; No one else could take the sin and darkness from me O how much He cared for me!” (Charles Weigle).

Who satisfies [our] mouth with good things, So that [our] youth is renewed like the eagle’s. At almost any age, our mouth can appreciate something that tastes good, with some exceptions, like certain ilnesses. But after a certain age, most people do not enjoy the strength they had when they were younger (compared to the strength of an eagle). The prophet Isaiah, in speaking of “those who wait on the Lord” had the following to say, 

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their Strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, emphasis provided). 

Eagles are very special birds, with very strong wings which allow them to fly to remarkable heights; much higher than other birds. As most individuals age, they tend to lose strength. But God’s promise, as spoken of by David, is that our youth (which I am equating to our vigor and strength) will be renewed (restored). We do play a part in making this happen by the care we give to our bodies. Here is a headline that you can read more about in USA Today!

“Louisiana woman sets world record in 100-meter dash for 105+ age group”

“Julia ‘Hurricane’ Hawkins ran it it in 1:02.95”

These are some of the blessings God has promised! And He will do what He promises! I hope every day will become a day of Thanksgiving for you and me!