What has God done for you?

In today’s liturgical reading, we come across Psalm 92.

Here’s Psalm 92:1-5 (CSB):

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

to sing praise to your name, Most High,

to declare your faithful love in the morning

and your faithfulness at night,

with a ten-stringed harp

and the music of a lyre.

For you have made me rejoice, LORD,

by what you have done;

I will shout for joy

because of the works of your hands.

How magnificent are your works, LORD,

how profound your thoughts!

The Psalmist sees a connection between recognizing what God has done and shouting for joy.

So, if I want more joy in my life, then I need to recognize and appreciate all that God has done for me.

As I meditate on these verses, the easiest starting place is the biggest: the magnificence of God’s works.

Today, during a break at work, I watched a video of a photography expedition to document the stunning beauty of polar bears. These amazing creatures survive in the Arctic, with a stunning capacity to hunt seals, swim in blindingly cold water, and camouflage themselves even atop sea ice.

Later, I talked with a friend, and we marveled that potentially more than a hundred billion humans have lived - and God loved each of them. It’s staggering.

To say that God’s thoughts are profound is to understate the case.

More personally, I am grateful that after the severe downturn I took after the spiritual abuse at RZIM, God has restored my faith in his existence - and his goodness. It’s a recovery that I used to think would be impossible - that I would be internally incapacitated for the rest of my life.

I’d love to be encouraged by your experiences!

  • What has God done for you?

  • What motivates you to shout with joy?

  • How do you recognize God’s works in your daily life?

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I’m going through Isaiah each day at the moment. Recently I was looking at Isaiah 46 in which God commands his people to ‘remember what happened long ago’.

Just to get the full impact and another sense of how profound God’s thoughts are, the section it’s placed in says this:

Isaiah 46:8–13 (ESV): Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”

There seems to be a huge connection between remembering what God has done in the past, knowing who he is, and holding onto what he promises for the future. It seems that the implication is clear: if you’re going to be able to trust God in the unknown of the future, then remembering the past is essential.

The way God describes himself in this Isaiah passage is another profound truth. It’s this truth that compels me to have a heart of joy even if life’s circumstances would drive me to feel the opposite. I’m currently getting an insight into what it feels like to experience powerful human emotions of hurt, yet at the same time be full of God’s peace and joy. Knowing his character and remembering all he has done in the past have been bedrocks to standing firm.

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That’s a deep insight!

I’m grateful for your testimony.

It’s amazing that God loves us when we are thriving and when we can barely get out of bed.

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What has God done for you?
First of all, it was important to remember the objective and immovable fact and covenant that God showed by sending Jesus to the cross, showing His love that is unchanging and faithful forever.

What motivates you to shout with joy?
Because Jesus took my shame and iniquity in my stead, I shout with joy and victory every time before the cross.
How do you recognize God’s works in your daily life?
My wounds and reality do not happen as quickly as I think, and although the Lord is invisible and unfeelable,I experience daily and sufficient victory in faith that I can endure and rely on every day.

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Hi @karim, thank you for this honest response. We continue to carry wounds and the frustration (at least, for me) that God is invisible. Yet, somehow, by his grace, he gives us the strength to follow him each day. Thank you for the reminder of what Jesus did for us on the cross.