Thoughts of Thanksgiving: A Five-Day Devotional by Skip HeitzigSample

All These Good Things

In Psalm 103, David shared a whole list of God's benefits he was thankful for. In verse 3, he highlighted God's healing: "[He] heals all your diseases." I've noticed that we often take our health for granted until we lose it. Some bodily function suddenly goes wrong, and we're on our knees. But do you thank God for your good health, for your hands, eyes, and legs—even if they're not functioning quite as well as you want them to?

Because David was speaking to his soul in this passage, some Bible commentators believe this verse is a reference not to physical healing but to spiritual healing. We know that the soul suffers its own ailments: discouragement, depression, doubt, fear, anxiety. But the Lord can, according to His will, heal all diseases, spiritual or otherwise. Even if He chooses not to, you can still thank Him for His faithfulness through thick and thin.

In verse 4, David was grateful that God "redeems [our] life from destruction." The idea is that God keeps your life from going to waste. It's as if you were sitting in a pawn shop with no bidders, and God saw your broken life and said, "I'm going to redeem you from destruction."

God also preserves and sustains you. When I was thirteen years old, a drunk driver hit our family car head-on as we were driving across Nevada. He died instantly, and my mother and father were badly injured, but I came out with just a bloody nose. God preserved my life, and I thank Him for that. I believe that you are invincible until God is finished doing what He wants to do in and through your life. Until then, He keeps you from destruction.

David also spoke of how the Lord "crowns [us] with lovingkindness and tender mercies" (v. 4). God is so gracious. Even when we blow it, He doesn't forsake us. He's merciful and kind in His dealings with us. Even if He hasn't answered your prayers in the way you want, you're still alive and He is still on the throne, so bless Him for that.

Finally, David wrote, God "satisfies your mouth with good things" (v. 5). We know what it's like to thank the Lord for our food. But did you know the Jews would pray after their meals in response to verses like this? Once they were satisfied with good things, then they would bless the Lord. So next time you bite into something tasty, be sure to thank God, who "gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17).