“ The world needs to hear you give thanks to God. They need to see that He is good. They need to know that His steadfast love endures forever.”
Psalm 107 begins with a common phrase in the Old Testament, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” For the believer, this is a call to worship God for all of His loving blessings, but sometimes, when we find ourselves in times of trouble, we forget the goodness of God. Psalm 136 unpacks this phrase to show us the faithfulness of God to His people, providing us refreshing reminders that God is good and His mercies never end. This Psalm, however, calls us to take this internal confidence and turn it outward in our proclamation, “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so.”
The world does not acknowledge the goodness of God. Times of prosperity do not turn people’s hearts to worship the great provider. Yet, in times of tragedy, the unbeliever asks, “Where is God?” Society does not see God as good. They see His rules as harsh, His people as hypocrites, and His message as foolish.
How do we communicate the love of God to a world that has rejected Him? Those who have been redeemed have tasted the goodness of God and have a unique story to tell. This Psalm shares four scenarios that encapsulate our individual experiences.
Empty to Satisfied
“Some wander in desert wastes.” This first story hearkens back to the experience of the Israelites wandering in the dessert. They felt lost and were faint with hunger and thirst. This historic event has stood as a testimony to the waywardness of man. We often feel dejected, but we fail to see the providence of God who rescues us time after time and provides for our every need.
This picture reveals our wandering hearts to find our satisfaction in the things of this world. There is nothing that this world could offer to satisfy the longing heart for true love, joy, and peace. Only God can quench our thirst. The woman at the well longed for ‘living water’ that could make her life easier, but what Jesus was offering was far more satisfying.
We can all relate to the feeling of emptiness. We are just beggars who have found bread. We have tasted the goodness of God, but does the world see a hunger for Him in our lives? As we demonstrate our daily dependence on God we bear witness of His faithfulness and we invite others to see our good works and join with us in giving glory to God.
Slaves to Free
“Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons.” The reality of the human condition is not so simply stated as being lost and hungry. The situation is much worse. We are all dead in our trespasses and sins. We are slaves to the devil and our passions. This next story reveals just how depraved we truly are. Every time we sin we are rejecting God’s perfect plan for our lives and surrendering our soul to an evil master who will always demand more than we bargained for. Death and slavery are strong words, but they only provide a picture of how devastating our condition really is.
For the Christian, it is not hard to admit to a sin nature. Repentance is directly connected to our salvation. We confess our sins and we know that God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. There is beauty in forgiveness. But for the world, the idea of acknowledging sin is offensive. “Who are we to judge them just because they sin differently than us?” they might ask.
The world needs to see us confess. We ought to cry out to God when we sin and pray for His mercy. The heart of the gospel is the forgiveness of sins, but if the world never sees us repenting, what value will they ever find in the gospel? We deal with the beam in our own eye as a testimony of how God can grant victory over sin. Conceivably, unbelievers might then see a glimmer of hope for the speck in their own eye.
Broken to Healed
“Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction.” The consequences of sin are real, and just because we have been forgiven does not mean that we have freed ourselves from its wake. We all bear scars as a reminder that there are real ramifications for sin. These wounds we carry with us can make us bitter. Many of us have experienced great anguish in life.
But as Christians, we can find significance in our pain as we empathize with the brokenhearted. Joni Eareckson Tada says, “Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desperate, urgent need. God is never closer than when your heart is aching.” As we cry out to God, He heals us. He doesn’t always restore limbs, return prodigal children, or alleviate pain, but He always gives us more of Himself and strength to endure as we put our faith in Him.
The world is full of broken people who are not shy in sharing their dissatisfaction in life. Christians ought to be a listening ear with empathetic hearts. We are all broken, but in Christ, we have found the one who can bring meaning to our pain, light to our darkness, and healing to our broken hearts. Let the redeemed cry out with songs of joy. Let the world see that our brokenness has been turned into thanksgiving, and our sorrow into rejoicing.
Running to Rescued
“They reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end.” The Hebrew people were not accustomed to the sea. In fact, whenever the sea is mentioned in Scripture it is often depicting the unsettling power of nature. This fourth story paints a picture of those who are tempted with the allure of power and riches. They leave the promised land and risk everything for the chance to gain more of what this world has to offer. But God won’t allow anyone to run away from Him for too long. Like the story of Jonah, God brings storms into our lives to threaten our own sense of safety and our treasures.
Our culture is driven by greed and power. The Prophet Haggai declares, “You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.” The world is searching for meaning in life, but we can search the whole world and never find it. We are chasing after the wind.
Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that we cannot have two masters. We will either serve God or money. But the one who has found God has found something greater than anything this world has to offer. However, this doesn’t mean that we haven’t been distracted by the treasures of this world. We often take our eyes off of Jesus and wander back into the wilderness in search of a promise that can never be fulfilled. This is why we need those who have fixed their eyes on Jesus to remind us just how satisfying He truly is. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
What Christ Became for Us
As Christians, we have a picture of the loving goodness of God knowing what Christ has accomplished on the cross. When we were empty, Christ became nothing so that we might be filled with newness of life. He fasted for forty days to identify with us in our weakness. He leaves the ninety-nine sheep in the fold in search of the one that is lost. While we were slaves to our sin and spiritually dead, Jesus paid the ransom with His own blood. Though we were broken and helpless, Christ became broken as He bore the weight of God’s wrath on Himself. He still bears the wounds on His hands, feet, and side as a picture of the devastating consequences of sin. And while we were still enemies of God, running and hiding from His presence, Christ left His seat in heaven to seek and save us.
We should note, that although these four stories are different and escalate in degrees of consequence, redemption is always the same. Verses 6, 13, 19, and 28 all declare, “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” There is no difference in how we must approach God. We are all equal at the foot of the cross. We cry out to Him and He rescues us. And when we have been redeemed we join with the ‘Many Voices’ declaring the ‘One Message’ found in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31. “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”
What is your story? Do you see it in this Psalm? Let the redeemed of the LORD say so. The world needs to hear you give thanks to God. They need to see that He is good. They need to know that His steadfast love endures forever. Do they see it in you?