Remembering HIs Benefits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
 who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."
Psalm 103:2-5 

I needed some encouragement today so I turned to the Psalms. This one touched me exactly where I needed. Sometimes in the course of life, I lose sight of what is really important. It's easy to be so focused on the troubles that I forget the greater purpose of my life. This Psalm centered me once again on how great God is and what he has done for me. Today, I thought we could all use this encouragement. 
    The psalm says: "Forget not all his benefits." How easy it is to forget all the things God has done for us. We have benefited from everything he has done for us. The things he has done are eternal. I can't imagine a world without the influence of my Heavenly Father. I can't imagine my life without the precious guiding of the Holy Spirit. Yet in the middle of the grind of life, we may take it all for granted. Let it be a new resolve in us to remember the benefits God has given.
    His benefits are not simply earthly things to help us get by. They are eternal things that are beyond any earthly value. He has forgiven all our sins. Where else could we find such a great salvation? He heals all our diseases and has redeemed us from the pit. Only God can do these things, for he is the Creator and Conductor of the great orchestra of creation. All this is ours. But there is more. He has poured out his love and compassion on us. He crowns us with it. This means that his love and compassion gives us a place of royalty in heaven and in the heart of God. He has certainly granted us the highest place in his heart. Every good desire we have within ourselves is placed there by God. He is the Author of our dreams and hopes, and he cheers for us to enter into these blessings. 
    Maybe you and I need to be renewed like the eagle. Maybe we need some youth restored in our lives today. When we remember the benefits of God, these things happen in us. We must make a choice today, a decision to praise the Lord with our souls. This is more than a religious activity. It is you and I crying out to God with all of our being, praising him and remembering all he has done for us and all he will do. If we don't feel like doing it, we must make a decision to force our souls to worship God. Within the daily activities of life, the most important thing we can do is to remember God's benefits. This will lift our heads and our hearts.