Forgetfulness about God’s faithfulness to us seems to be a human condition. The Israelites forgot God as soon as they occupied the Promised Land, followed by a cycle of kindness by the Lord and forgetfulness of that kindness as soon as the distress was gone.
We Christians also find ourselves forgetful about all that God has and is doing for each of us. We find ourselves facing trials or suffering allowed by the Lord for our benefit and His glory; we call out to him for guidance and deliverance. He proves His loving care for us and His faithfulness on our behalf; we learn from the experience, and then forget what He has already done when we hit the next snag.
Having found myself in this miserable condition recently, I began to write a list of all the things I could remember that God had and was giving me. As the list grew long, I was ashamed of my forgetfulness. This passage came to mind:
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
(Psalm 103:1-2 NASB)
What follows is a list of things that came to mind as I meditated on what God has given:
| Breath of Life | Genesis 2:7; Job 12:10; Job 33:4; Isaiah 42:5; Acts 17:25 |
| Blessings of Nature | Psalm 8; Job 12:7-11 |
| A measure of faith | Romans 12:3; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 2:8 |
| Every good and perfect gift | James 1:17 |
| Once to die, and then the judgment | Hebrews 9:27 |
| His only begotten Son | John 3:16 |
| Grace | John 1:17; 1 Corinthians 1:4 |
| Forgiveness | Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 32:1, Psalm 130:4; Daniel 9:9; Matthew 26:28; Acts 5:31 |
| Redemption | Psalm 11:9; Psalm 130:7 |
| Justification | Romans 4:25; Romans 5:18; |
| Peace with God | Romans 5:1 |
| Peace of God | Philippians 4:7-9 |
| Eternal life | John 3:16; John 3:36 |
| Hope | Romans 15:4, 15:12; 15:13 |
| Adoption into God’s Family | Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:15; |
| Discipline as God’s Child | Hebrew’s 12:7-9 |
| To suffer for His Name | Philippians 1:29; 3:8 |
| The mind of Christ | 1 Corinthians 2:16) |
| All that Pertains to life and godliness | 2 Peter 1:3 |
| My daily bread | Matthew 16:11 |
| Guidance | Psalm 23) |
| Deliverance from evil | Psalm 23; Matthew 6:13 |
| God’s Word | 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19 |
| God’s promises | 2 Corinthians 1:20; 2Peter 1:) |
| The Holy Spirit as a pledge of things to come for us | Romans 5:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14 1Corinthians 6:19 |
| Power to be Witnesses of the Gospel | Acts 1:8 |
| Fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Self-control, etc. | Galatians 5:22 |
| Gifts of the Spirit | 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 |
| Priesthood | Revelation 1:6, 5:10; 20:6 |
| Kingship | Revelation 5:10; 20:6 |
| To be glorified with Jesus when He is revealed in Glory | Colossians 3:4 |
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
