Psalm 103:1-2 ‘Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’

DAILY READING – John 14:15-31; 2 Chronicles 21:2-22:12; Psalm 79

There are so many things we ought to be grateful to God for. One of these is the fact that we at least have access to certain basic amenities. While that may sound menial, there are people in the world today, who consider having their basic needs met as a miracle.

In 2019, Yemen was declared the country with the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Again this year, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) after its assessment, placed Yemen as number one on its list of countries at greatest risk of a humanitarian crisis in 2020.

According to a UN estimate made in February 2019, The Yemeni prolonged Civil War has left an estimated 24 million people in need of assistance and protection. That’s nearly 80% of the country’s population. 20 million people are food-insecure, 19.7 million are unable to get adequate healthcare, 17.8 million lack access to safe water. In 2018, this led to a cholera outbreak in the country that affected hundreds of thousands of Yemenis, especially children.

Violence is historically common in Yemen, it escalated sharply in March 2015 and resulted ultimately in the civil war that has left 3.6 million citizens of Yemen displaced. This has led to food insecurity, attacks against civilians, and political infighting. The conflict has grossly destabilized the country, and created extreme levels of need and severely limited access to humanitarian assistance. Basic services such as healthcare and sanitation and access to clean water have shut down. The war has also destroyed the country’s infrastructure, and put the economy on the verge of collapse.

Today, for many people in Yemen, their prayer is just to have food to eat and clean water to drink. However for many of us, those are things we daily take for granted.

It is often said you don’t appreciate what you have until you lose it. If any of us were to live in a place like Yemen for a few months, we will probably come back with a new appreciation for the basic amenities of life God daily makes available to us. This is the same reason why people who have near death experiences often return with a new appreciation for life.

But we don’t have to wait to be in dire situations, before we can begin to appreciate God for all the benefits, He daily loads us with.

Psalm 103:1-2 says ‘Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’

Indeed there are so many things we ought to be grateful to God for. While we may not yet be where we desire to be in life, let us be content with where we already are, trusting God to lift us in due season. Life is a marathon and not a 100 meter dash. Let us therefore keep thanking God every inch of the journey, and appreciate Him for His blessings in each season.

Yes, life may have thrown you some curves this year; things may not have turned out the way you planned it and you may have gone through some trying times. But whatever you may have lost, thank God, you didn’t lose your mind. You are still here! And you still have breath. And the Bible says ‘Let everything that has breath praise The Lord.’ [Psalm 150:6]

Indeed thanksgiving is a debt we owe God, it is not optional. Thanksgiving is important because it adjusts our attitude and calibrates our hearts so that we stop complaining and rather begin to appreciate God. Indeed God has been good to us. If it had not been for The Lord on our side, especially in this season, where would we be? Let us therefore bless Him at all times. And as we keep thanking Him for His Hand in our lives, He will surely reveal His great and mighty arm to us.

PRAYER: Lord I am truly grateful for all Your blessings and benefits in my life. Please help me to never take Your goodness for granted. May Your praise continually flow from my lips at all times in Jesus Name.

QUOTE

When you praise God despite your situation power is released for a raise. – WORDBITE 222