OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL Date: Saturday 30th January 2016

Theme: COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS (2)

Memorise: Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight” Psalms 144:1

Read: Psalm 103:1-5 (KJV)
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 not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

Message:
Still dwelling on counting your blessings, we must consider some other things as highlighted by the great Psalmist so that we may understand what made him a great worshipper. There are many seen and unseen Hands of the Almighty God that have kept us alive. For life alone, we must bless the Lord.
In our memory verse for today, the Psalmist blesses the Lord for teaching his hands to war and directing his fingers to fight aright. We must realize that not all fighters win in the battles of life, many are destroyed by the hostility of life. This might have influenced David to write: “Bless the Lord o my soul… who redeemeth thy life from destruction...” Psalms 103:4.
Considering the numerous battles David fought, particularly against King Saul, one should know that but for God, David would have died a premature death. David lived to a very old age, though his beloved son overthrew him and sought his life; he survived his external and internal enemies. To him, the kindness God showed to him was not ordinary, it was the loving type. Meaning that kindness has categories!
How I wish someone reading this devotional will appreciate God’s kindness to him as intensely as David did.
David saw good food, its nourishment and appetite to eat it as blessings from the Lord in verse 5 of our text today. What a grateful creature of the Almighty God David was.
There is a story told of a woman, iIesa-land in the South-west Nigeria, who was fond of thanking God for good food and the appetite to eat well. Anytime Mama Ijesa came up for testimony, she would tell of how God provided not only good food but also appetite to eat it. Her Pastor became bored of the one and only testimony of this grateful woman and stopped her from giving testimonies in the Church.
Not long after, the Pastor took ill, and on his sick bed, all sorts of food were brought to him but he had no appetite to eat any of them. When mama-Ijesa came visiting like other parishioners, she innocently asked whether her Pastor realized that having good food to eat is not enough, but having appetite to eat is equally praiseworthy.

Action Point :
Take a minimum of 15 minutes to thank God for His goodness and Mercies over your life and that of your loved ones.

Bible in one year: Matthew 13:44-16:4 Job 13:1-16