“O give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his mercy endures forever!”
Psalm 107 is the prayer of people who know what it means to be lost and then to discover that God has not abandoned them. It speaks of those wandering in the wilderness, hungry and thirsty, unable to find their way home. At the moment of their distress, they cry to the Lord, and He delivers them.
That makes today’s response more than a simple expression of gratitude. It is the thanksgiving of someone who has experienced God’s mercy personally.
There are seasons when our own lives can resemble that wilderness. We may not know which direction to take. Plans fail, doors close, strength begins to disappear, and the future becomes uncertain. Yet the psalm reminds us that God can make a straight path through places where we see no road at all.
His mercy does not depend upon everything in our lives going well. It endures through our failures, our wandering, our waiting and even those moments when we have struggled to remain faithful.
And when God brings us through such seasons, we should remember to give thanks not only for what He has given us, but for who He has been to us along the way.
Today, whatever our circumstances may be, we can still proclaim with confidence:
“O give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his mercy endures forever!”