The Lord Has Been Good To You

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” Psalm 116:7

It can be so easy to forget just how good the Lord has been to us sometimes. When things don’t go our way, or even when we are mildly inconvenienced, we can adopt a “woe is me” attitude and forget just how blessed we are in the grand scheme of things. When disaster strikes or life gets hard, our souls tend to despair. We worry and fret, sometimes to the point of sickness and exhaustion. However, we don’t have to exchange our peace for anxiety in times of difficulty. 

The author of Psalm 116 was no stranger to tough times. He mentions that, “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.” Yet, we can learn so much from his response in the face of life’s troubles, as he does something so simple yet profound. In verse four it says, “Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” We are not without help in this world. God is our ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). He invites us to come to His throne of grace with confidence, so that we can get help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). 

Psalm 116 then goes on to describe some very comforting characteristics about God. The author mentions that God is compassionate and that He is gracious and righteous. He lets us know that not only does God protect us, but He saves us when we are brought low. As a result of who God is, the author encouraged his soul by speaking undeniable truth. He says, ““Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”

May we command our souls to do the same today. No matter what trials we face or what storms of life threaten to overtake us, may we remind our soul to return to its rest, because the Lord has indeed been good to us.