Psalm 136 (NIV)

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.” – verse 1

This is a great Psalm. The Psalmist tells us to give thanks (to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to) to God. He tells why we should be thankful: for He is good. Just meditate on those 3 words: HE IS GOOD. I know that you have met people who were nice and good to you and also you have met people who were completely the opposite. But God, knowing what you are and what you’ve done, is still good to you. Now that is something to be grateful for. We are living in a generation where the “thank yous” and appreciations are quickly being forgotten. You have to understand something about parents, they love it when their kids are grateful for the smallest thing. God is the same way. He gives more and more to those who have learned to be grateful. Isn’t it funny how this is something you have to learn? You would think it is easy to be grateful, but notice in your own life, how many times have you been grateful to God for what He has done? It takes practice to make it into a habit that will make it into a lifestyle.

This Psalm allows us to reflect back to all those times God was good. The psalmist begins to write a detailed thank you list to God. He started from when God delivered them from Egypt and through all that God did for them. Maybe you should write a little thank you list to God. It’s amazing how quickly we forget how good God has been. When you write it down, it makes you more appreciative to what He’s done. You might not be in a thankful spirit today because you need a miracle or you need help, but think back when God blessed you and took you out of a certain situation. Isn’t He will able to take you out of this one…AGAIN? If He did it once, He can do it again and again. If it’s recorded in the Bible, then God wants you to believe that He can do that for you.

At the main core of this psalm there are 26 verses that give the same message: His love endures forever. This is not only the core message of this psalm, but of the whole Bible. He loves you. There is nothing that you can do to make Him stop loving you. He loves you in spite of what you’ve done or will do. All you have to do is accept His love. What He does for you and all His goodness is because He simply loves you. This is something we will never really understand, its not meant to be understood, just accepted. So remember the next time you’re being thankful for things He has done or things He will do, its all because He loves you.

Filed under: Devotionals, Reflections by Adilson Chacón