Tag Archives: bible promises

My pastor preached a series based out of Psalm 103 on the benefits that God gives. Verse five particularly stood out to me as I read it in the Amplified version. It says, “Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]!” There is so much promise for us packed into this one verse.

The first half reminds me that God knows what we need and what we want. I’ve been trying to teach my son the difference between those two for a while now. He will say, “Dada, I need that toy.” I reply, “No. You want that toy. You don’t need it.” I figure I’m a lot like that with God. I pray to God often about my needs and He points out that they are wants. Like a good father, He wants to bless us with our needs and wants, but He wants us to understand the difference.

The last part of that first half reminds me that God knows what’s going on in my life and where He’s taking me. He knows what each situation needs so that the outcome is for my benefit. What He knows it needs and what I think it needs are often different. In my prayers, I’m learning to ask God to resolve my problems in the best way He knows how instead of me telling Him how I’d like them to be resolved. I find that I’m happier with His resolutions.

I had always been confused by the next part of the verse. I had never understood the phrase “so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” until I learned about the molting process. The adult eagle will shed his feathers and grow new ones for his exact age and even for the season he is in. God knows what season if life each of us are in. He provides us with the things we need in order to be renewed accordingly. He understands what worked for you five years ago won’t be the same thing you need today. He gives us good things that are relevant to where we are in life.

The final part of that verse says why He gives us those good things. It’s so we can be strong, overcoming and soaring. Strength helps us face the future challenges in life. Overcoming is how He wants us to live each day. We may get knocked down, but an overcomer gets back up and keeps moving forward no matter what. God also provides us with wings to soar. He wants us to rise high and fly. The higher we go, the closer we get to seeing things from His perspective. When we get His perspective, we know how to pray better.

God offers lots of benefits to us as believers. I think once we begin to understand what they are and why He gives them, we are more apt to do what it takes to receive them. God is good to us and sees our bigger picture. He’s not afraid to give us what we need instead of what we want. We may not always like how He answers our prayers, but as we soar higher in life, we’ll have his perspective and be able to look back and see what He was doing. He has your best interest at heart. Accept the gifts He gives for each season of your life.