A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Psalm 116 (The Devotional Bible, by Max Lucado)

I love the Lord, because he listens to my prayers for help. He paid attention to me, so I will call to him for help as long as I live.
The ropes of death bound me, and the fear of the grave took hold of me.
I was troubled and sad. Then I called out the name of the Lord, I said, "Please, Lord, save me!"

The Lord is kind and does what is right, our God is merciful. The Lord watches over the foolish, when I was helpless, he saved me.

I said to myself, "Relax, because the Lord takes care of you." Lord, you saved me from death, you stopped my eyes from crying; you kept me from being defeated.

So I will walk with the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, so I said, "I am completely ruined." In my distress I said,, "All people are liars."

What can I give the Lord for all the good things he has given to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation, and I will pray to the Lord. I will give the Lord what I promised in front of all his people.

The death of one that belongs to the Lord is precious in his sight. Lord I am your servant; I am your servant and the son of your female servant. You have freed me from my chains. I will give you an offering to show thanks to you, and I will pray to the Lord.

I will give the Lord what I promised in front of all his people, in the Temple courtyards in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.


This is one of my many favorites in the Psalms. At one point of my life, I was in such despair that I wanted to end it. I was trapped on one side of a huge wall, and the rest of the world was on the other. I didn't know how to climb the wall. But I had faith, somewhere in my depths, that I was not even aware of. Jesus broke down that wall. He gave me a reason to live and brought wonderful people into my life. At the lowest point of my life, when I was contemplating suicide, I was only 18. Now I am getting old and unable to do a lot of things I'd like to do, but the Lord guards my way and keeps my feet steady and sets me upon His High Places, because He keeps His promises. He said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you!" If you are distress today, know that Jesus is aware and is so close to you right now. If you have sunk into despair, He is the ladder to climb out of it on. He will make your steps steady and lead you in the way everlasting, because He has promised to take care of us, and He will. Turn your eyes upon Jesus instead of your circumstances, and know that His hand is outstretched to you. Take it, and rejoice for the Lord God Almighty has not forgotten you. You are His child and He loves you whether you love Him or not. Maybe you don't know Him. Maybe no one has ever explained it to you before. He came that you might have life and have it more abundantly. Trust Him. He will bring you out of all your deep waters, He will part the sea of despair and let you walk through. He did it then, He will do it again in your life. Let Him in. He is waiting just outside the door of your heart.
His words are just as true today..."If ANY man hears me knock and opens the door to his heart, I and my Father will come in and sup with him and stay with him." It's a promise that He will keep. You're the one who has to open the door. True Life is waiting just on the other side of the door of your heart.