Thankful or Forgetful

I’m about to have a good day…

Imagine this: You wake up on time. Your alarm works. Your house has heat. The shower has hot water. The lights turn on. Your car starts. Traffic is normal. You get to work safely. Your body is functioning. Your family is okay.

You’ve already had dozens of things go right before 9 AM.

But what happens?

You spill a little coffee on your shirt.

And instantly your entire emotional world collapses.

“That’s it. Today is terrible.”

Never mind the 47 blessings that lined up perfectly to get you to that moment. The one negative becomes the headline. The thousands of positives get pushed to the classifieds.

It’s like our minds take a highlighter and ignore the entire page of good so they can circle the one bad thing in neon yellow.

The reality is, nothing changed except our focus. The positive is still there—still real, still abundant. We’re just staring so hard at the drip of coffee that we can’t see the mountain of blessings behind it.

It doesn’t matter what it is, we can do 100 things right but everyone will only ever remember 1 thing that we did wrong.

In the same way, we can experience hundreds of God’s blessings, but we will be consumed and distracted by one thing that went wrong.

It’s easy this week to stop and take some time to be Thankful because that’s what we’re supposed to do. But honestly, Thanksgiving isn’t supposed to be a once a year thing. As God’s people we should be living lives of thanksgiving.

In theory when you sang this morning, you should’ve been giving thanks to God.

Thankful or Forgetful — Psalm 103

Why do we fail to be thankful, and how can develop an attitude of thankfulness in our lives?

3 Words - Thankful — Mindful — Faithful

You will be thankful, when you are mindful, that God is faithful.

Psalm 103:1–7 “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 forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.”

Why does David reference God’s goodness to Israel as a way to remind himself to be thankful and not forgetful.

Think about all that God did for them.

Exodus 16:3 “3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.””

You forget when things get bad.

Deuteronomy 6:10–12 “10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

You forget when you are full.

Forgetfulness is natural; mindfulness is intentional.

When we talk about remembering, we’re not talking about a random thought popping into your mind, but the intentional act of choosing to remind yourself of God and His faithfulness. It’s a discipline of mindfulness.

Notice what David goes on to be mindful of…

Psalm 103:8–18 “8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

Exodus 34:6–7 “6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.””

Which one is true? He clears the guilty or He will not clear the guilty?

Both are right.

Isaiah 53:6 “6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

God has cleared the guilty, because Jesus was punished for our guilt. God brought all the guilt and punishment for our sin on Jesus. And in doing so, He was able to clear us of our guilt.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.”

What do we need to be mindful of?

God is faithful, especially to those who have placed their trust in Him.

God has already been faithful to every human on the planet in sending Jesus to die for them.

Jesus was forsaken and forgotten so you could be forgiven because God remembered you — God was and is mindful of you!

To those who have placed their trust in Jesus, even though you will not be perfect, God will remain faithful to His promise to you.

He knows your struggle.

Hebrews 4:15 “15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

God knows you. Jesus our King, knows you. When you stand before Him broken over your sin, He knows. He remains faithful to forgive.

God stays with you.

Psalm 103:19–22 “19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!”

Conclusion: If God is faithful, then you can be thankful.

You will be thankful, when you are mindful, that God is faithful.

How are we mindful of these things? Every day when you wake up, choose to remember God.

Put something on your bathroom mirror. Put something on the dash of your car or truck. Put something on your desk. Wear something on your wrist.

Jesus remembered you! He is faithful.