Count Them Again | Daily Breakthrough Bread | September 12, 2026

TEXT

Psalm 103:1–5

KEY VERSE

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

Psalm 103:2, KJV

CONTEXT

David speaks to his own soul. He knows how easily the heart forgets God’s goodness, especially when life becomes difficult. So he deliberately calls himself to remember. He then begins listing God’s benefits: forgiveness, healing, redemption, lovingkindness, tender mercies, satisfaction, and renewed strength.

REFLECTION

In this Psalm, David begins with himself by preaching to his own soul. He was not speaking to Israel or addressing his circumstances. He says, “O my soul.”

David understood something about the spiritual life that we often forget: sometimes the person who most needs preaching is ourselves.

Our souls can become discouraged, distracted, cold, or so preoccupied with what is missing that we overlook what God has already given. So David refuses to simply wait until he feels like worshipping. He takes it upon himself to command his soul: “Bless the LORD.”

There is something profoundly practical here. Biblical worship is not always the spontaneous overflow of emotion. Sometimes faith must take the heart by the hand and lead it back to God.

David then says, “Forget not all his benefits.” Why does he need to tell his own soul not to forget? Because the heart forgets easily.

We remember disappointments more readily than deliverances. We remember what we lost but forget what God preserved. We remember today’s trouble but forget yesterday’s mercy.

So David begins to count.

He remembers that God forgives his iniquities. He remembers that God heals his diseases. He remembers that God redeems his life from destruction. He remembers the lovingkindness and tender mercies with which God crowns him. He remembers that God satisfies him with good things and renews his strength.

Notice where David begins: forgiveness. His greatest benefit is not what God has placed in his hands, but what God has done about his sin.

And perhaps this is where gratitude must begin for us too.

There are seasons when it is easier to count what is wrong than what is right. We count the money we do not have, the prayers that seem unanswered, the opportunities we missed, the disappointments we experienced, and the things that did not work out as we hoped.

Before long, our troubles can become so large in our minds that the mercies of God become almost invisible.

But our troubles are not the whole story.

There are mercies we have overlooked because they became ordinary. There are dangers God brought us through that we never even saw.

So perhaps today our souls need the same instruction David gave his:

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

Stop for a moment.

Count them again.

You may discover that the list is much longer than you remembered.

PRAYER

Lord, open my eyes to Your mercies and teach my soul not to forget Your benefits.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE

Read Psalm 103:1–5 slowly again. Write down five benefits of God that you have received but have recently taken for granted, and thank Him for each one.

KEY TAKEAWAY

A grateful heart is often a remembering heart.