Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    whom he has redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

Psalm 107:1-3 ESV

We’ve been through a lot in the last few years, haven’t we? Talk about troubles… a global pandemic, natural disasters, wars in various parts of the world, civil unrest and loss of life, trouble with family and friends, economic issues, people we love deserting the faith, just to name a few.

One of the things I love about the Psalms is that they tell about the world as it is, not as we wish it might be. Psalm 107 is a great example.

In this Psalm, the author chronicles the hard times the people of Israel have endured through many, many years, and God’s actions in every trial – rescued from the hands of the Egyptians, redeemed from near extinction at the hands of the Babylonians, and restored to relationship with Him when they turned their hearts back to God.

Maybe you can identify with some of the Israelites’ plights named in Psalm 107:

• Homeless, in need of being resettled (vv. 4-9)
• Held captive/prisoner, in need of release (vv. 10-16)
• Sickness (physical, emotional, mental), in need of restoration (vv. 17-22)
• Storm-tossed, in need of rescue (vv. 23-32)

In each of these distresses, we see people coming to the end of their rope, calling out to God, and God meeting them there.
The refrain is the same, no matter what the trouble:

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and He delivered them from their distress.

Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28

Join with me today to reflect on God’s goodness for a few minutes and write down some of the ways God has met the cry of your heart and been your Responsive Rescuer, Righteous Redeemer, and Relationship Restorer.

The psalmist ends with wise advice when we are tempted to try to handle life on our own:

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
    let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 107:43 ESV

May you find reason to rejoice and express your thankfulness to God today,

~kevin