Psalms 13:6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
Bountiful: Giving freely, generously; marked by abundance, plentiful
Psalms 13:6 was a verse that "caught" me when I read it. I know that there are many times in life that we feel unloved and uncared for; however, we need to remember and recall the many, many, many times that the Lord has dealt bountifully with us. The times He has given to us freely. The times He has dealt with us generously. The times He has blessed us that are marked by abundance. The times He has sent plenty.
Okay, here is the admission of guilt. I took a break from writing. I wanted to write, but nothing came to me. I was off schedule - for a variety of reasons. I will admit that one reason was that I was reading my Bible. . .daily. Quickly, but daily. Reading the Bible quickly, or less than thoroughly does not feed one's soul. But I'll save that soapbox for another post. :)
It is SO important to feed our souls through preaching, reading the Bible, and spiritual singing. One of the ways that I know I am getting my soul fed is that I get ideas. Yes, ideas. If you were to sit in my church and watch me and see that I was writing, it's probably not sermon notes. It's idea notes. For example. This past Wednesday night, my husband was preaching and mentioned the anointing of Saul to be the first king of Israel. Which led me to think of a whole lesson on a portion of scripture that had semi-stumped me in the past. The way I know I am not getting my soul fed is that I run out of ideas. . .
Anyway. Back to bountifully. So, yes, every time I read this verse, I think of Bounty paper towels. They are named Bounty because of their ability to absorb "plentiful" amounts of mess. God's bounty is much more.
When I think of God's bounty, I think of His sacrificial gift - the giving of His Son as a sacrifice for our sin. I think of the beautiful area of Tennessee that I live in - all of the beautiful flowers, grasses, trees, and other plants. I think of blue skies and golden fields. I think of all the things He's done for me in the past. Things like directing my steps in His will. Things like His leading my husband to me. Things like providing me a good place to work (not perfect by any means, but one with good people . . .and one in which my light can shine bright for Christ if I allow it to). Things like a good family. I see so many little events in the lives of my family that, if a different decision were made, could have had very different outcome.
I think of God's bounty in the present. One of my husband and my biggest praises this summer is that my husband has a job with his brother. You see, we both have 9/10 month jobs where we only get paid for . . .9/10 months. :) The other times we try to save up, but it's not always possible. It was such a blessing that Josh has work this summer. Another blessing this summer was that I could work a few weeks for a friend of mine at their fireworks stand. That helped financially, as well. Another blessing I had (this one is the icing on the cake) is that I won a contest. Yes, a contest. I know many of us feel that we "never" win anything. . .I have always felt that way. But I finally won something - and it was a BIG something. I won a KitchenAid mixer. Wow. Did I need one? No, I already had one. I felt like it was God saying that He loves me and is always going to take care of me. It made me feel so special.
Take a minute. Think of things that God has blessed you with. Little things, big things, common things, uncommon things. Take a second and go ahead. . .comment your blessings. Help us all dwell on how good our God has been!
