Did You Forget?

“Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.“ -Psalm 103:2

Do you remember the first job you had that came with benefits?

I spent my young adult years playing music professionally, which I loved! But playing gigs as a musician doesn’t exactly come with medical and dental insurance, or a 401k.

My first job that came with benefits was when I served as an Assistant Pastor at a church in Novato, California. I felt so grown up and accomplished having a job with insurance and even a retirement plan!

It wasn’t often, but if I did need to go to a Doctor, I was proud to show my insurance card. “Look at me. I’m adulting!” haha

Decades later, I’m still serving as a Pastor and my job still provides benefits. But, if I’m being fully transparent, I probably take them for granted.

Maybe you do too.

My family’s health insurance is sort of a given. If we need it, we use it. End of story.

I probably should be way more grateful for those benefits than I am. Having medical insurance is a huge blessing! But over time, I’ve lost that feeling of appreciation for the benefits I get with my job.

It can be the same way with God’s blessings.

Do you remember when you got saved? That amazing feeling inside of joy and gratitude! I remember feeling so overwhelmed with God’s love and appreciative of His mercy.

But over time, those feelings have dulled a bit. Oh, I’m still grateful for God’s gift of grace…but sometimes I get lost in the heaviness of pastoring that I don’t always stop and remember just how blessed I am that God calls me His son and shows me new mercies each and every day.

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” -Lamentations 3:22-23

I don’t ever want to grow so calloused and misguided that I’m not absolutely blown away by the amazing gifts God has given me as His child.

I mean, just think about this: The very reason we’re able to receive the blessings of God is because Jesus died on a cross for our sins. He made a way through excruciating sacrifice so that I could know God’s grace and His salvation.

That fact alone should take our breath away every single day.

When I wake up in the morning, my first thought should be, “I am the beloved of God. Because He made a way for me, I’m a child of the King. I’ve been given every spiritual blessing through the blood of Jesus.”

Paul said it best in Ephesians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

EVERY spiritual blessing. He has withheld nothing from us as His children.

In your walk with the Lord, don’t become so bogged down with the weight of the world’s problems that you lose sight of the blessings you have in Christ. Start each day with a prayer of gratitude that as the sun rises, God’s mercy for you is brand new.

Stay in awe of your salvation.

If you find yourself taking God’s blessings for granted, just read Ephesians chapter 1. In it, Paul outlines just some of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ.

It’s written out here for you, with the blessings in bold.

Ephesian 1:3-10 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.”

v.13-14: “And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.”

v. 18-19: “I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe.”

We have so much for which we should be grateful!

Tell God, in your own words, how grateful you are for these and for so many other spiritual blessings in Christ.