Honest With God: Finding Healing and Wholeness Through the PsalmsSample

“You want me to give thanks in the middle of this?!”

Physically weary from 8 a.m. meetings at my church and locking the door of the coffee shop at 11 p.m., it took a lot of energy to read books, but I have an intense desire for personal growth. A friend had recommended a book about the childhood of a figure I admired. The book chronicled the lessons this leader had learned from his grandmother, who raised him.

This man’s grandmother had taught him to exercise his gratitude muscle, and he was encouraging readers to begin a daily gratitude practice. Though I admired his story, I did not feel grateful, nor did I want to give thanks for an exhausting season of life. However, life had become increasingly discouraging, and I wondered why I should read books if I weren’t going to take action based on what I read.

So, I began to type out three things I was thankful to God for each morning. Slowly, day by day, I watched as my attitude began to shift and the world started to seem less dim. “Wow, this practice actually works!”

King David never lost this capacity for worship. In Psalm 103, he calls his own soul to attention: "Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits." (Psalm 103:1-2 NIV)

If I could paraphrase that passage, I think David is essentially saying, "Wake up, soul! Don't sleepwalk through God's goodness. Remember what He's done." Then, David catalogs those benefits from God: "who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." (Psalm 103:3-5 NIV)

Every item on David's list could easily be taken for granted. Forgiveness becomes routine when you've experienced it repeatedly. Healing feels expected rather than miraculous. Redemption from destruction becomes just another Tuesday.

But David refuses to let familiarity rob him of his wonder. He deliberately remembers, intentionally marvels, and consciously chooses gratitude over grumpiness.

I experienced the same thing when I began my daily gratitude habit. Extra hours shifted from an annoyance to God’s provision of more resources to pay off debt. A night at home with my wife had been no big deal a year before, now it was a surprise date night over a meal not heated up in a microwave! A new perspective came to life!

Later, in Psalm 8, David looks at the night sky and experiences that same sense of awe: "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" (Psalm 8:3-4 NIV) When we are paying attention to the big and little things in our lives, our eyes are open to see and give thanks for God’s gifts.

Gratitude isn't just good manners; it's a form of worship that restores wonder to weary souls. If you need strength in an exhausting season, don’t overlook gratitude!

I’ll see you tomorrow when we consider how this pursuit of health and wholeness is tied to God’s purpose for our lives.