All God's Benefits

"Let all that I am praise the LORD;

may I never forget the good things he does for me."

Psalm 103:2 NLT

While it is hard to follow Jesus in a culture than runs counter to His teachings, there is much good that comes from this relationship.  There are many advantages I've been given through this bond.  Have I redeemed these benefits?

Forgiveness.  I feel tainted, guilty, burdened by my failures, wrong decisions, and mess-ups.  Even though I know in my head I'm free from condemnation from such transgressions, my heart feels doomed, like I'm a convict awaiting my sentence (Romans 8:1).  

In truth, I've been absolved of all crimes against God and His perfect standards.  Even though I often choose my own way instead of His, I'm cleared of receiving what I deserve.  Despite the fact that I'm drawn to what I think of as the right choice that is in reality not God's best for me, I'm pardoned from the death sentence this kind of living earns me (Romans 6:23).

Forgiveness, true cleansing from the dirty stain of the sin that comes so natural to me, is mine.  While all the ways I fall short, all my missteps and attempts at coping and living according to my methods and ideas have made me guilty as sin, the blood of Jesus has cleansed me as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).  When God looks at me, He no longer sees my sin but only the holiness of Jesus.  What do I see when I look at myself?

Have I redeemed the benefit of the forgiveness of God that Jesus' death on the cross secured for me?

Healing.  I belong to Jesus, this I know.  I'm a part of His family and glad to find such belonging there (1 John 3:1).  Still, there is this brokenness inside, this inability to move forward in my faith, this constant, nagging feeling of incompleteness in my soul.  Past hurts plague me like an insidious cancer, growing bigger and bigger until they consume me.  I find myself unable to relate to the love of Jesus or reciprocate this love in any way because there is something wrong in my heart.

"Do you want to get well?" It was a strange question for the Healer to ask the invalid who had lain at the healing waters of the pool of Bethesda for years, obviously seeking freedom from his disability (John 5:6).  Of course he wants to be healed, the onlookers must have thought, why else would he be in this place, hoping to be the first into the angel-stirred restorative waters?  

Turns out, it was a valid question and one I must ask myself.  Do I want to be free from what ails me, or do I gain some measure of satisfaction from the misery in which I find myself?  Is my identity so wrapped up in my physical or emotional pain that I subconsciously think I'd lose myself if I became well?  Do I somehow enjoy feeling sorry for myself or reap some kind of warped benefit from my brokenness?

Wholeness and fullness-of-life is mine through faith in Christ, for this is why He came, to give me the abundant life (John 10:10).  If I choose to live with my infirmities, preferring to feel self-pity and see myself as the unfortunate one, or even afraid of who I would be apart from my comfortable and familiar soul-sickness, I am not receiving the whole gift Jesus died to offer me.

Have I redeemed the benefit of healing that is mine through faith in Jesus Christ?

Redemption.  The redemptive power of God is astounding.  He takes the bad within us and exchanges it for something eternally precious.  He transforms what was meant for evil into something astoundingly good.  He is able to take the worst thing that ever happened to me and somehow turn it into the best, most life-changing experience of my life (Romans 8:28, Isaiah 61:3).  

Have I welcomed this redemptive force into my life, or do I tend to focus on the negative, failing to see all the good God is bringing out of it?  Part of faith is believing God will act according to His redemptive nature, doing as He has promised He will do, even when things seem impossibly bad and irreversibly lost.  In Christ, there is always hope.  In Christ, I have the expectation of a God who is doing something new today (Isaiah 43:18-19).  In Christ, I can walk forward into the darkness with confidence, knowing that God, the Light himself, is there waiting to illuminate my path.

Have I redeemed the benefit of His redemptive power at work in my life through faith in Jesus Christ?

It's easy to claim a relationship with Jesus Christ but fail to receive all He has to give.  He offers complete forgiveness of all my sins, past present and future.  Healing is mine so that I can live in fullness of life.  Not only is my life redeemed, but He uses His redemptive power to transform the ugly into the beautiful.  Have I redeemed these benefits?  If not, today is the day to cash in and start living as God means me to live; fully forgiven, healed of all brokenness and with the hope that comes in His redemption.    

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to confidently walk through the fire knowing that God will use it for my good.

How am I stuck in my sorrow, choosing pity instead of healing?

When do I feel weighed down with the guilt of my sin when Jesus freed me from such a burden?