“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits…” — Psalm 103:2
In last week’s blog, I talked about the danger of allowing our circumstances to make us forget what God has done. This week, I’ve been thinking about how we can keep ourselves from forgetting in the first place. And I think one of the answers is gratitude.
Humans are incredibly good at pointing out what’s wrong. There is always something to criticize; something to complain about; something we wish was different. And, if we’re not careful, that critical spirit can begin to shape the way we see everything around us.
We start to focus on what we don’t have instead of what we do have. We see the things that went wrong instead of the things that went right. We remember the disappointments but forget the blessings. And maybe that’s exactly what happened to the Israelites. They became so focused on what they lacked in the wilderness that they forgot all that God had already done for them.
That’s what makes Psalm 103:2 so important. David tells his own soul, “Forget not all his benefits.” In other words, remembering what God has done in the past can help us better navigate our current problems. Gratitude doesn’t necessarily change our circumstances—but it can change the way we see them.
It’s not pretending that life is easy. It’s not ignoring our struggles or denying that something is wrong. It’s simply realizing that gratitude helps us to remember that, even though everything isn’t going the way we hoped, God is faithful. There are still blessings to recognize. There are still reasons to praise.
Maybe that’s why gratitude is something we need to practice. Because remembering our problems comes naturally. But remembering God’s goodness is something we have to do intentionally. We have to stop and remember the prayers He’s answered. The doors He’s opened. All the times He’s provided.
What are we forgetting? What has God done for us that we haven’t thought about in a while? What blessings have become so familiar that we’ve stopped seeing them as blessings? What goodness is right in front of us that our hearts have overlooked?
Last week, I reminded us what can happen when we allow our circumstances to cause us to forget God’s faithfulness. This week, let’s be intentional about remembering. Remember what He has done. Give thanks for what He is doing. And trust Him with what comes next.
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