Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. People from all over the earth have found that God cares. From the east and the west; from the north and the south – from the four “corners,” or hemispheres of the earth – those who have found healing and deliverance are urged to proclaim their redemption with thanksgiving.
Where does it hurt? What is your struggle? What is your battle? Even more: What is the solution? Does anyone care?
Psalm 107 addresses those questions. It is a great place to go to find out how much God cares for you. It is likely as you read it you will see yourself or someone you love in one or more of the sections of the chapter. What follows is sort of a paraphrase of Psalm 107.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.
I’ve always wondered why spell check doesn’t like the compound word “lovingkindness.” Maybe it is because it is archaic; appearing mostly just in the Old Testament. Maybe it is because few people really believe that God is loving and kind. The word it translates is the Hebrew word chesed (חסד). It means mercy or compassion. However, it is not just feeling sorry for. It is love that acts with kindness to relieve the suffering it sees.
Give thanks to Him. He satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry soul with what is good. When you feel like you are in a wilderness, with no place of comfort, no place to call home; when you feel you are fainting spiritually or emotionally from an inner starvation – cry out to Him, and you will find His deliverance. It is wonderful to see His lovingkindness at work.
Give thanks to Him. He slices through iron bars of bondage and shatters the gates that keep you imprisoned. When all around is the doom and gloom of death row; when sin has you bound in chains because you have rejected Him; when life is a struggle and you feel weighed down and weary – cry out to Him, and you will find His deliverance. He forgives and liberates. It is wonderful to see His lovingkindness at work.
Give thanks to Him. Thank Him as though you are offering your thanks on an altar. Sing for joy because of His mercy. He sends His word and heals, and delivers from the destruction we have made of our lives. When your own foolishness and sin have resulted in turmoil; when even food loses its appeal; when death seems like your only possible release from the mess you have made – cry out to Him, and you will find His deliverance. It is wonderful to see His lovingkindness at work.
Give thanks to Him. Do not be afraid to do it in public. Lift Him up before others. He calms the storms of life and brings us into a safe harbor. When you are miserable, and tossed around by life to the point of staggering ; when you are at your wits’ end; when the roller coaster waves of life have you sea-sick, nauseous and you feel your soul is melting away – cry out to Him, and you will find His deliverance. It is wonderful to see His lovingkindness at work.
Think about His lovingkindness like this:
Sin can take us from a place of plenty and turn life into a wilderness. God takes a wilderness and turns it into fertile land, providing food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty and a place to belong – an “inhabited city.” He takes it a huge step further. Not only does He provide for us, but He gives an abundance – fields, vineyards, a fruitful harvest.
He does not say there will not be times when the enemy comes to oppress. I love the passage in Daniel 10, where Daniel had been praying for three weeks. An angel appeared and said he was sent out when Daniel began praying, but was detained by the “prince of Persia.” Has Satan assigned demons to specific countries (perhaps even cities, maybe even businesses) to serve as “princes” in his efforts to rule over men? God pours contempt on princes and makes them wander a pathless waste! He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction.
Thank you, Lord, for taking me out of my wilderness and bringing me to a place of plenty, for satisfying my soul. O the bliss of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be satisfied. Thank you that when the enemy would come against me and try to send me back to the barren past, he is the one who winds up in the wilderness. It truly is wonderful to see Your lovingkindness at work.
