God's Benefit Package
Introduction
I rediscovered one of my prayer diaries in which I recorded some of my early experiences of answered prayer.
On 26 September 1976, I wrote about a prayer for my mother: ‘Prayed for the Lord to heal her insomnia.’ (I did not tell her I was praying for her.) Exactly three months later, on 26 December 1976, I wrote that my mother ‘says she has slept better in the last few weeks than for four years and it is no longer a problem’.
Of course, it is not possible to prove Christianity on the basis of answers to prayer, because cynics can always explain them away as coincidence. But as former Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple said, ‘When I pray, coincidences happen; when I don’t, they don’t.’ The cumulative effect of answered prayer is to reinforce our faith in God.
Over the last thirty years, I have written by the New Testament passage for today some of my prayers for the year ahead. It is amazing to think back and remember the ways in which God has answered so many of these prayers. I find it very easy to forget all the answers to prayer. It is so easy to forget blessings.
David reminds himself in the psalm for today not to forget ‘all his benefits’ (Psalm 103:2). Many are conscious of the ‘benefits’ they receive associated with their employment, or from the state. But what about the ‘benefits’ that we receive from our loving heavenly Father?
Psalm 103:1–12
1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
10 ...he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Commentary
Remember and thank God for all his benefits
There is so much to praise God for. David appears almost to be speaking to himself and urging himself on: ‘O my soul, bless God, from head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing!’ (vv.1–2, MSG).
David had clearly faced many troubles in his life: sin, disease and ‘the pit’ (vv.3–4). Yet he, like the apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 1:3), begins with praise for so many of God’s benefits.
1. Forgiveness
God forgives all your sins (Psalm 103:3): ‘he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities’ (v.10); ‘as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us’ (v.12).
2. Healing
God ‘heals all your diseases’. One day we will be completely healed. We see signs of this now, when God heals us directly and supernaturally. In addition, God has put in our bodies the immune system, antibodies and the mending process.
3. Redemption
God ‘redeems your life from the pit’ (v.4a). There is no pit so deep that God’s redemption cannot reach.
4. Love
He ‘crowns you with love and compassion’ (v.4b): ‘for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him’ (v.11).
5. Satisfaction
He ‘satisfies your desires with good things’ (v.5a).
Prayer
2 Corinthians 1:3–11
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favour granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
Commentary
See his benefits even in the midst of suffering
Have you suffered loss or bereavement? Are you facing some health issue? Are you under great pressure in your finances or some other area of your life? Are you being opposed or criticised? Are you in a time of difficulty, disappointment or hardship?
Paul was the founding pastor of the Corinthian church. In this, his most personal letter, he reveals the heart of a leader. He reveals his feelings as a man of flesh and blood who knows what it is to go through trouble (v.4), sufferings (vv.5–8), distress (v.6), hardship (v.8) and pressure (v.8) – the word Paul uses means to be pushed down under great weight.
He has been in despair (v.8), he has felt ‘the sentence of death’ (v.9), he has faced ‘deadly peril’ (v.10). As well as physical persecution, he has faced criticism, ridicule, sickness, depression, bereavement, injustice, disappointments, temptations and difficult personal relationships.
Sir Winston Churchill said, ‘The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.’ By this definition Paul was definitely an optimist!
He starts the letter with praise – not for the problems but for the positive benefits that have come through them. What are these benefits? How can you and I see the benefits in every difficulty?
1. You will be comforted
‘The God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles’ (vv.3–4). The word for comfort means to encourage, cheer and come alongside. God is the ‘Father of compassion’ (v.3). He is not immune from suffering. He comes alongside us and suffers with us. His Holy Spirit is ‘the Comforter’ (John 14:26, AMP).
2. You will be a help to others
If you are in a time of suffering right now it may not seem much comfort – but one day you will bring great comfort to other people: ‘He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us’ (2 Corinthians 1:4, MSG). Those who have faced difficulty in life make the most effective ministers.
3. You will be changed
Hardship ‘produces in you patient endurance’ (v.6). Like gold refined by fire or a vine pruned to produce more fruit, difficulties lead to patience, endurance, steadfastness and perseverance. They lead to character transformation.
4. You will not be alone
Paul writes, ‘Just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort’ (v.7). The word he uses for ‘share’ comes from the Greek word koinonia, which is the word used to describe the closest possible relationship. In times of difficulty we should experience an extraordinary closeness of relationship as we comfort and encourage one another, ‘Your hard times are also our hard times’ (v.7, MSG).
5. You will learn to trust God
When things go well it is easy to become self-reliant. But when everything goes wrong and we reach the end of our tether, we are forced to trust God. As Paul puts it, ‘Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally’ (v.9, MSG).
6. You will be rescued
Paul writes, ‘He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us’ (v.10). As you look back and see how God has delivered you in the past, you can be confident he will deliver you in the future.
7. Your prayers will help others
Prayer is powerful. God really does answer prayer. One of the best ways you can help other people is by praying for them: ‘As you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favour granted us in answer to the prayers of many’ (v.11). When your prayers are answered, God will be glorified.
Prayer
2 Chronicles 26:16
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.
Commentary
Don’t let his benefits make you proud
Times when things are going well can be as much a test upon our faith as the times when they are not going well. Abraham Lincoln, who as President of the USA knew all about power, said, ‘Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.’
Uzziah started so well. He became king aged only sixteen (26:1). ‘He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD’ (v.4). He ‘was a loyal seeker after God’ (v.5a, MSG). ‘As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success’ (v.5b). ‘God helped him’ (v.7). He became famous and he became quite powerful (v.8). ‘Everything seemed to go his way’ (v.15, MSG).
When he was seeking God, God answered his prayers, helping him and giving him success.
However, it all went horribly wrong when ‘he became powerful’ (v.15c). Fame, success and power are intoxicating. They carry with them the dangers of pride and arrogance.
‘But then the strength and success went to his head. Arrogant and proud he fell’ (v.16, MSG). He did what was specifically forbidden in Scripture (see Numbers 16:40; 18:7), in spite of the fact that many of the leaders ‘confronted him’ (2 Chronicles 26:18) and warned him against being ‘unfaithful’ (v.18). Instead of listening to them, in his pride he ‘lost his temper’ (v.19, MSG). This is a warning. If things go well, do not become proud. Keep trusting and obeying God.
Prayer
Pippa adds
In 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 it says:
‘The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.’
Sadly, we are not spared troubles in this life, but we do have a compassionate Father who is the God of all comfort, not just some comfort, and, who is able to comfort us in every single trouble that we face.
Verse of the Day
Psalm 103:11–12
‘For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us’
Thought for the Day
‘When I pray, coincidences happen; when I don’t, they don’t.’
– William Temple, former Archbishop of Canterbury
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References
The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel (commentary formerly known as Bible in One Year) ©Alpha International 2009. All Rights Reserved.
Compilation of daily Bible readings © Hodder & Stoughton Limited 1988. Published by Hodder & Stoughton Limited as the Bible in One Year.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.