Many times in the Bible, blessing and cursing are set in opposition to each other (see, for example, Genesis 12:3; Deuteronomy 11:29; Romans 12:14). If I had to say which one of these was more common in our modern world, I would say cursing. I don’t necessarily mean using swear words, though it certainly can include that; I mean wishing some harm or evil on another person or group of people. You could say the market for cursing is booming; if the prevalence of cursing were visualized in a chart, the line would be going up and to the right. But blessing? Blessing seems as rare as coming across a violin made by Antonio Stradivari in a secondhand shop.
Stradivari won’t be making another Stradivarius, but we can craft blessings. It’s a choice, though; blessing does not come about by happenstance. That is why Psalm 103 begins (and ends) with, “My soul, bless the LORD” (Psalm 103:1,22). The psalmist was telling himself to bless; he was using his will to direct his emotions. If he was like me (and maybe you), he didn’t wake up most mornings already in a blessing frame of mind. He had to remind himself of what is true, so he was sitting his inmost being down and telling it to reflect on who God is and what He had done.
Old Testament scholar J. Alec Motyer writes, “When the Lord ‘blesses’ us, he reviews our needs and responds to them; when we ‘bless’ the Lord, we review his excellencies and respond to them.” That is what the psalmist did. In the first five verses, he reflected on the excellent things God had done for him personally. He had received from God forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, satisfaction, and renewal. Then, in verses 6–18, he widened the scope of his review to include what God has done for others throughout history. In spite of our smallness, weakness, and sin, He has put His faithful love on us forever. The end of the psalm expands the vision again, with the psalmist encouraging all of creation, both seen and unseen, to bless the Lord who rules over all.
If we are not careful, we can go through our whole lives reacting, letting our priorities be set by what seems most urgent. If reacting to our circumstances is how we live our lives, we will get to the end of them and wonder how we spent them. We need instead to speak to our souls, telling ourselves to bless.
Like the psalmist, then, let us remember that God in Jesus Christ has blessed us immensely, loving and forgiving us. If our souls understand how blessed we are, we will then be able to bless the Lord and also bless other people. In doing so, we can participate in the music of blessing God gives to the world, sounding forth His love more beautifully than the finest instrument.
Written by Elliot Ritzema
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87 thoughts on "Psalms 103–105"
Appreciating the blessings we have is key to being in a position to bless others. Lord i pray that I am actively praying for blessings on others
Praise the Lord, bless His holy name! God is so good and I am so undeserving of his love and provision.
Shouting praises for the miraculous outcome for Steve alongside you all!
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Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
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The benefits of the LORD for His children are precious and unsearchable. I will be memorizing the Psalm 103 again and again today. I find it so helpful as a mental toolbox for times of hardship. I was praying for the Spirit of Joy and the Spirit of a sound mind be poured out over young people struggling with mental challenges in our days. We must draw on the strength of the Lord, and the knowing that He has preserved the benefits for those who fear Him. May we count our blessings, our benefits, one by one each day. May we never forget the benefits He has given us. I think of my company’s benefits, how thankful I am for them, though I don’t use all, but such assurance in case I need, they are there. Just like GOD’s benefits.
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Rejoicing with you dear GRAMSIESUE. What amazing turnaround. Happy tears.
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Praise the LORD.
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Be blessed dear sisters.
A verse for today.
Psalm 104: 34
“May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.”(NLT)
A prayer for every day.
Beautiful Blessings, my Sister Shes.
In Judaism a great deal of our prayers and they began with Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Ha Olam… Blessed are you O God, King of the Universe…”
Elliot Ritzema made some great points today in the devotional;
“Old Testament scholar J. Alec Motyer writes, “When the Lord ‘blesses’ us, he reviews our needs and responds to them; when we ‘bless’ the Lord, we review his excellencies and respond to them.” That is what the psalmist did.”
“We need instead to speak to our souls, telling ourselves to bless.”
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Psalm 103 is another psalm that my mother and I memorized together while doing dishes before dishwashers. I often pray this psalm back to God for all His benefits. I am so grateful for His healing power throughout my life, especially in my back surgery. I am grateful every morning that I can get out of bed and take care of my needs. There were several months that I could not do that. The last 10% of healing has been hard. Walking is still a challenge, but I force myself every day to go a bit further. Sunny Florida has helped even though it is cool here today. I am so thankful for God’s healing power.
Praise also for Sue’s wonderful news. May God’s healing power be total and complete for Steve.
Praying for your strength to overcome the challenges. I tried to walk every day too and some day the temptation to stay inside is strong. Discipline and small consistent efforts, praying for us :)
Thanks, Mercy!!❤️
Prayers for you too!!
Psalm 103
1 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
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Psalm 104:35b
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
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Psalm 105
1 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
2 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
3 Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
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May we, as the old hymn says, sing of the mercies of the LORD forever!
SONG SHARE:
10,000 Reasons (Bless the LORD) by Matt Redman
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find
So bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name (bless You, Lord)
And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore (forevermore)
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Love, hugs, and prayers! ❤
Rejoicing with GRAMIESUE AND STEVE over answered prayers!!! ❤
This song is my calming song. I sang this when in traffic, when the little ones throw tantrums, when in hospital, when on the verge of tears, when on vacation, etc etc. Thank you CEE GEE for this.
Oh, Mercy, thank you for sharing that! ❤
I was singing this as I was reading the comments before yours! :)
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That was the song in my head today as well!
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I loved Psalm 105…a great refresher summary of God’s great provision of His people! I was watching The Chosen, the last season, going through their perspective of the last supper. I loved that they went around and said…”if ONLY…God had done “fill in”—WE ARE BLESSED!! Like if God does NOTHING else for ME…He HAS done so much for me, mainly had mercy and grace for me, sent Jesus for me and saved me. That is enough to bless his Holy Name!! We deserve nothing. We are like a wildflower, here today and gone tomorrow. Time is short, we are ultimately blessed if we are a Child of God, that gets eternal life!
Also after recounting his goodness, the disciples dip their finger in the wine 10 times and recount the plagues on Egypt that showed his power, and they repeat them together. Oh if we would recount all God has done in our life. As a family. As believers. The miracles we have seen, and that we know. There are so many prophecies, 80% closely, have come true, with more to come..yet we still find it hard to bless our Lord as the author stated today. We let our circumstances become controlling, even when in America we are all truly blessed with houses, cars, jobs, and money and..coffee!!
It is truly eye-opening when I spent time with those that are down on their luck. Stacey got out of jail with nothing but the clothes (pajamas and slippers in this case) on her back. Nothing else. Yes, she got herself there, but she still needed someone to give her faith. To believe that she is worthy and to help her. I spend the last 2 days with her, providing a shelter, clothes, and a ride to all the checkpoints she had to do for drug court. It will not be easy, but with prayers, and her trust and obedience she can. She had the most perfect peace when nothing seemed to go easy yesterday…more than me for sure. One step at a time, He will provide, she said over and over.
We don’t know how strong our faith is until it is tested. We don’t know LIGHT until we experience darkness. We don’t bless until we look and choose! I hope we as Christ-followers will CHOOSE to bless our Lord Almighty, daily, hourly..no matter what surrounds us. For He is good, he is worthy, worthy of all honor and praise.
Shout to the Lord—Yes, clapping, dancing, kneeling and proclaiming, all the days of my life! Praise the Lord!
Amen Rhonda! Beautifully said. And what a blessing you are to Stacy.
You remind me of the scene in the Chosen I watched a few nights ago. The disciples were recounting the great deeds of God, and then they say, if not, “it would have been enough”. I found that so humbling, and this is the VERY first time I heard of that concept.
YES..that’s the scene I meant!! It was so good! I think that would be such a great practice, even the women in the next scene did it!
My soul, bless the LORD” (Psalm 103:1,22). The psalmist was telling himself to bless; he was using his will to direct his emotions. If he was like me (and maybe you), he didn’t wake up most mornings already in a blessing frame of mind. – this was so well said I must devo! He was using his WILL to direct his emotions. How many times do I just let my emotions run amuck and forget that I have a choice (with God’s help) to reframe and reset? Lord help me to keep my eyes fixed on you today! Have a blessed day ladies!
“Reframe and Reset!” Good motto! May I remember diligently to adhere to this!! For it is commanded- Love the Lord YOUR God with all your heart, soul and mind! Letting NOTHING come before that!
Praising God for all of His blessings on my life!
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Psalm 103:2-5 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.103.2-5.ESV
We need to remind ourselves daily how blessed we are! If He does nothing other than salvation, what more could we desire?
Praying for all!
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Psalm 103:1
Amen ❤️
Thank you, Lord for all you have done!
Bless the Lord, oh my soul! The Lord is so good and faithful. I am blessed with another sweet granddaughter last week. She is beautiful and healthy! I’m also blessed that God is so faithful and my mom, who has dementia, will be moving into an assisted living facility. It’s the one I’ve been praying she could get into. So many of our older church families are living there. Asking for prayers that all goes well when I tell her she will be moving out of her home and for her transition into her new apartment at the facility. It’s going to be difficult but I know God’s timing is perfect and a blessing to both of us. Thank you sisters for your prayers.
Praying for you and your mom! Congratulations on your new granddaughter!
Congratulations on your new granddaughter! What a joy that is. ❤️
Have prayed for your Mom’s transition and needs.
GM ladies. Sorry for not posting this Monday. I got a late start because I went to the epic Brandon Lake concert in NY! Wow! And yesterday sadly we had to put our family dog Muffin down. I took off today to spend the day with Chela because she is so upset – on top of everything else she is upset about:( Here is our everyone growing list. Please add your name and prodigals in the comments below my name. Let’s storm heaven for our loved ones!
Acts 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 26:18:… open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.
Jeremiah 31:16-17 But now this is what the Lord says: “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the Lord. “Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy.17 There is hope for your future,” says the Lord.“Your children will come again to their own land.”
Proverbs 20:7 The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him.
Alice V – Brian, Rachel
Kim Mullins – Tyler
Tami – Chela, Quentin
Sharon – Nicholas, Jonathan
Rebecca W – Brett, Jake, Joey, Lindsay, Kelly, Abby, Katelyn, Katie
Emma Rageth – Olivia, Ali
Indiana Elaine – Kent, Shelley
Mari V – Rick, Marta, Toby
Tricia C – David, Allison, Christopher, Lina, Travis, Nicole
Mia Faith – Parker, Isaiah, Alexandra, Griffin, Annalee, Bill
Aleida – Victor
Maddie – Michelle, Julia
Rhonda – Michael
Charlotte Hill – Casey, John, Emma
Deb – Brandon, Angel
Linda J – Matthew
Mollie – Sam
MMD – Ethan, Hayden, Rachel
Carol H – Justin, Ezekiel, Elijah, Andrew
Kari – Rachel, Josh, James, Ayano
Mi Sherry – Kaitlyn, Aaron, Will
Cheryl Read – Renee, Jason, Kayden, Kylee
Wendy B – Amy, Colton, Kirk, Nick
Anne Klinkhammer – Molly
Sue Dalos – Chelsea, Kenny
Bessie – Ben
Annie Hewitt – Annie pls give me name/s:)
Sandy Lynn – Andy
Diane – Jon, Keith, Roger, Mike
Jane K – Leah
B – M, B
Susan B – Tammy, Amy
Carla – Cierra, Stephen
Lisa H – Cora
Kimberk – Megan, Randy
Adrienne – Raelynn, Tyler, Tracy
Brandi – Levi, Sarah, Ellen, India
Robin Bailey – Rodney, Brian
Erin L – Emerson, Zoe
Janet – Ryan, Amanda, Matthew, Stephanie
Sheryl – Adam, LaShonda
Maria J – Benjamin, Mike, Mark, Patrick
Maria B – Chris, Tristan, Madeline, Cristal, Shanty, Nicole, Luis
Melani Fryer – Matthew, Dylan, Courtney, Lydia
Therese – Ryan, Brittany, Sydney
Traci Gendron – Kara, Andrew
Jenny Carmichael – Katy
Mercy – boys in social care system
Kerry Rowley – Preston, Parker, Lindsey
Maria S – Joshua, Katie, Zoe
Melissa – Madison, Richard, Liam, Zac, Wesley
Felicia – Brittin, Tyler
Vicki – Ben, Sian
TC – Randi, Michael, Callie
Elizabeth – Trae, Xavier, Reya
Adie – Monica, Shawn, Stephanie
Susan B – Emma
Penni – Les, Jonah, Emily, Garret, Domi, Connor, Grace
Nat – Marissa, Melody
Martha Hix – Claire, Ralph, Tyler, Whitney, Trey
Phobie – Phobie, Greg, Steve, Jessie
Laura – Jordan, Taliah
April L – Molly, Becca
Karen Breaux – Brittany, Justin, Erin, Jordyn
Heather – Jack, Hudson
Cheryl Blow – Sara
Dianne – Ian
Leap – Liz, Teg, Taylor, Alison
Tara B – Clara Paige, Anna
Debra K – Stephen, Meagan, Daniel, Creg
Margaret W. —David, Matthew, Missy, Becca, Marianna
Melzie K- Jake, Cece & Elijah
Shar – K
Leala – Ryan, AJ, Sam
Jennifer – Matthew, Lauren and families
G, T, and S
Son, Jeremiah and grandchildren Brayden, Nolan, and Ashlyn.
Oh my word. It’s so sad that that list has to be so long. Thank you for sharing it again.
A & A, K & T
Finley, Rudy, Scout, Nellie, Polly, Dottie, and Goldie!
Help me to bless you and others, Lord! Help me to reflect on your goodness and faithfulness and to recall the times you showed me mercy and grace!
Lord God, mighty Father, we bless your name. We give thanks and lift our praise for your unfailing love, for your new mercies every morning, for your extravagant grace, and for your generous forgiveness thst casts our sins far away and for redemption in our lives that is far beyond what we deserve. Thank you Lord that we can seek your face for strength, that you bring light to the darkness. Thank you Lord that you heal and we can testify to your faithfulness and how you are always moving and at work to show yourself in our lives. As we call out to you Lord may we seek righteousness, truth and do so with an obedient heart and soul that walks in your ways. We lift our hearts in praise to you Lord and bless your name. Amen.❤️ ✝️
Amen!
Thank you for this beautiful prayer, Wendy. Amen ❤️
“If our souls understand how blessed we are, we will then be able to bless the Lord and also bless other people.”
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Amen
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Bless the LORD oh my soul.
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Did anyone else immediately think of the song, How Great Is Our God when reading Psalm 104:2? …”The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment;” Here’s just a small portion of the song by Chris Tomlin…
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The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the Earth rejoice
All the Earth rejoice
He wraps himself in light
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God
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Blessings to each of you today.❤️
Yes! In a world full of cursing others, let’s change the world by focusing on blessing! Let us be God’s light in this dark world!
Such a great reminder to praise in all circumstances! Doing my best to remind myself of that each day. There is always reason to praise!
Gramsie Sue, thank you for shouting out how God blessed Steve! What a beautiful story of His healing and care
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
And as I do, may I always bless you Lord by remembering all you have done for me and for us all, and find peace and joy. Amen
That verse stood out to me Cat-tee. We are to “seek his strength”, it’s not passive but active. It is there for the taking but we have to seek it.
Lord I bless you and praise you for all that you’ve done in my life. I thank you for the miraculous healing you’ve been doing in my body since my surgery last year.
May our blessing and praising of the Lord, our remembering of His great works be an encouragement to others in their own struggles.
Amen and thank God for your healing! What a testimony!
Amen❤️
O MY soul, bless the Lord. May I bless others while being a blessing.
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Lord open my eyes to Your goodness and grace all around me.
I love this definition of our blessing the Lord: “we review His excellencies and respond to them”! “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him.” Let us be regularly reviewing and proclaiming God’s faithful love and mercy to us who fear Him!
We need to speak to our souls and tell them to bless the Lord, truth!
We need to speak to our souls and tell
Oh my She’s!!!
God is so good!
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Let me tell you how great He is!
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Four years ago Steve was diagnosed with Glioblastoma and given 18 months to live. The surgeon was able to remove all/99% of the brain tumor. Steve had radiation & chemo, went on a Keto diet, and started taking a regimen of supplements that Dr Jim Roach prescribed to help prevent any reoccurrence.
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Fast forward to one month ago and Steve’s MRI showed the tumor had returned. They told us at this appointment that surgery could be risky so we started looking for other options. Our plan was to return to see Dr Roach for his best regimen. We were going to leave on Thursday last to our appointment on Friday.
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But God…
Wednesday night Steve had the worst headache of his life. We could find no relief at home. He fell out of bed and my daughter and I worked for 30 minutes to get him into a chair. By morning we were all exhausted and completely at wit’s end. Steve’s sister said, “You need to get him to the hospital. Something is very wrong”.
We called 911 and went to the local hospital. They ran an MRI which showed the tumor had doubled in size and the swelling in his brain had caused a midline shift of 11mm (dangerous!). They talked to his doctors at Barnes who told them to get him to Barnes asap! They airlifted him within 15 minutes!
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The oncology team at Barnes went into warrior mode…and today Steve underwent surgery to remove the tumor. 5 hrs later the surgeon came out and told me and my family that he had been successful in removing 99% if not all of the tumor!!!
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God’s plan was the BEST plan! He orchestrated everything to get Steve where he needed to be to get the treatment he needed to save his life!
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And so I’m here now to tell you Thank you for all your prayers! He is in some pain but he is talking and moving in bed better than we had hoped. There does not seem to be any damage from all of the swelling or the surgery which was risky. They will watch him closely for the next few days and we should be able to return home and resume life with a much greater appreciation for all our blessings!
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Yes, he will more than likely have radiation, chemo, and more supplements. But I know that He is in God’s hands!
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God bless each of you & hugs to you as well! ❤️
Oh Praise the Lord!!!
Wow! What a powerful testimony of Gods provision and timing. God is so good! Praying for you all
Praising God with tears!
What an awesome God we call Abba, Father!
My heart is so very thankful to read this this morning.
Gramsiesue, I will continue to hold you and yours in prayer, most especially Steve, for his healing and recovery to be straight forward and speedy. Praying Gods hand continue to be on and over him.
Love you my friend..
GOD IS GOOD, SO VERY GOOD..❤️
Such wonderful news! Thank you for sharing so we may bless the Lord with you and give thanks.
Thank you Father for this miracle in Sue and Steve’s life! We ask Your continued hand of healing on Steve and for his speedy, complete recovery. Amen.
Praise God!!! What wonderful news to wake up to today!!! GRAMIESUE, you and Steve are so loved and prayed for by our group! Continued prayers for you both! ❤️✝️❤️✝️❤️✝️
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord! Tears of thankfulness for God’s blessings and grace for you, Steve and his medical team. Praying for Steve’s quick recovery.
Praising God for the care he was able provide Steve! Players for continued recovery!
Praising God with all the others for His mercy and kindness to Steve and you and your family.
GramieSue praising God with you. I’m so glad he got to the right team and the surgery is viewed as a success. On going prayers for the healing.
O bless the Lord my soul – He is SO good! Giving thanks with you GramieSue and praying for continued healing and strength for Steve.
Praise God for his hand over you and Steve!! So happy to hear it has worked out so well. Praying for continued healing!
What an awesome story! The way God works is beyond anything we can think or imagine.
Praise the Lord! ❤️
GramsieSue, what a wonderful blessing your update is this morning!! I am so thankful to hear this answer to prayers.God is so good! I will continue to pray for for you and Steve.
Praise the Lord for this miracle! Thank you so much for sharing your and Steve’s story- putting him on my prayer list for complete healing!
Praise God for this amazing answer to prayer! I too, checked first thing and am so grateful to read this. What a journey you have been on and what a testimony to His faithfulness! Will continue to pray for Steve and you as he recovers.
Praise the Lord! What an amazing answer to prayer and testimony of God’s hand at work. Thank you Lord for your mighty hand at work in every way. Bring healing and restoration to your beloved son, Steve and may your name be lifted high and glorified thru his life.❤️✝️
Tearing up reading your update and thanking God for His amazing love. So happy they got the tumor and he is recovering well. God is great! Continued prayers for a safe and speedy recovery.
Praise God, praise God, praise God!
We were all praying for you both through out the day yesterday! Thank you God for answering our prayers!!❤️
Praising the Lord! Praying for Steve’s recovery and strength through the treatments. So happy the surgery went well!
So thankful for this wonderful update on Steve’s surgery! God was there all along, loving and caring for his children! I love that you went back and shared the full story and weaved in all the trust on your part and then the great miracles of God’s hand and care! Add that in with all the miracles of the business issues…and we bless the Lord. Even if–it is all God’s perfect plan and we can trust Him for he does everything for the good of those who love him, and called for his purposes!
Wonderful news! Thank you Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Wow! Thank you Jesus ❤️ Will continue to pray for Steve and his recovery, wisdom and skill for his medical team and God’s peace and strength to fill you and Steve.
Wow Sue! Praise God this is amazing! Thank you Jesus for your miracle healing for Steve! He is a walking miracle!
SUE!!!!! Praise God, indeed, for hearing our prayers! Romans 15:13 is Biblegateway verse of the day! I was going to share it as a prayer for you and Steve, but now it is a PRAISE!
Romans 15:13 ((New Living Translation)
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Continued prayers for all of you through this recovery period and for wisdom in determining future steps! Thank You, God!!! ❤
Oh…..GramieSUE!!!! THis is SO wonderful!!!! God is SO good!!
God is an amazing God! I can only imagine your joy at this moment. What a mighty God we serve.
So very thankful to see your glorious update!
Praise the Lord!
Praying for you and Steve during his recovery.❤️
Oh GramieSue, How great is our God, for sure! And how appropriate that this news would fall on a day when our readings were full of-“praise the Lord oh my soul, oh Lord, my God, you are very great, Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, etc!!!
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Praise God!!! Thank you so much for sharing this update Gramsie Sue!!
Praise God!
Thank you for sharing ‘the Lords blessings’ with us!! Praise God!!!