A Five-Word Devotional About Recounting God’s Ways

From Psalm 9 – a lesson on Recounting

Recounting His deeds assures us we will not forget. God doesn’t want a part of us; he wants us in our entirety. Psalm 9 tells me so. There is a way to give thanks. This same Psalm tells us so.

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;

I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. [ESV]

The first line tells me what I will do: I will give thanks with my whole heart. How do I do that? The second part tells me how I give thanks with my entire heart: I recount His deeds.

I

No one else can do this for me. To give thanks with my whole heart, I must do the work. No one else can thank God for me. This must come from me. It’s not, “We praise You.” It is “I praise You.” Do not forget to make it first person and personal.

Will

Again, when scripture says I will, it simply means it is something I will to do. I don’t plan to do it. I do it. This involves my will, my desire, to do this.

Recount

To recount means that I tell again, remember, or give an account of an experience. You’ve already remembered, but you remember again. When we recount, we don’t forget. We must never, ever forget the works of God. By recounting, we do not forget. We remember the event or experience again – and we remind ourselves of the goodness of God.

Your

God does not want to hear us talk about ourselves. He wants to hear us talk about Him. This is how we proclaim Who He is – by telling others, and reminding ourselves of Who He is and what He does. Next time you are in the doldrums and think life isn’t fair, remember this. When you think life isn’t fair because you have done all the “right” things and things have not turned out the way you hoped, focus instead on Him.

(Wonderful) Deeds

A person’s deeds are something they have done. We can do good deeds or bad deeds. What are God’s ways (or what is His way of doing)? Isaiah 55:8 says that God’s ways are not my ways, and neither are His thoughts my thoughts. How glad we should be that His ways are not ours, but are better than our ways.

What God does is for our sanctification. He provides grace, power, mercy, comfort, and hope. All of these we must count and recount so that we do not forget. Deuteronomy 4:9, 23 and 6:12 give instructions to the Children of Israel to take care so that they do not forget what God has done for them.

We do not forget by counting and recounting His deeds. Instead of counting our accomplishments and deeds, we recount His.

An attitude of gratefulness

When we continually recount the deeds of God, we do not forget. When we remember and rehearse His deeds and His faithfulness, we will praise Him. Next time you’re discouraged, start recounting. You’ll be glad you did.