There's a powerful word that echoes through the ancient psalms—a word that demands our attention, commands our response, and calls us to action. It's not a suggestion or a gentle recommendation. It's a passionate, direct command: **"Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever."**

That simple "Oh" carries weight. It's urgent. It's personal. It's a call that reaches across centuries to touch our hearts today.

Lost in Our Own Wilderness

We've all been there—wandering in our personal wilderness, searching for something we can't quite name. The psalmist paints a vivid picture: people wandering in solitary places, finding no city to dwell in, hungry and thirsty, their souls fainting within them. 

Doesn't that sound familiar? 

Our wandering in sin mirrors this ancient journey. We travel lonely pathways through a pleasure-seeking world, never quite finding rest, never feeling at home. We eat and drink, we consume and acquire, but there's an emptiness that nothing seems to fill. Sin never satisfies. It promises fulfillment but delivers only exhaustion.

Like the Israelites who wandered forty years in the desert because of their lack of trust, we too find ourselves circling in our own wildernesses. People lost in the woods often walk in circles, never escaping. Without a guide, without light on our path, we're trapped in patterns that lead nowhere.

The Power of "Then"

But here's where hope enters the story. There's a word that changes everything: **"Then."**

"Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them."

You need a "then" moment in your life—that point where God steps in. Sometimes we reach it quickly; sometimes it takes years. We all have to hit our own rock bottom. Some of us get there faster than others, but eventually, we arrive at that desperate place where we realize we cannot fix ourselves. Our parents can't fix us. Our children can't fix us. Our government certainly can't fix us.

At that moment of complete surrender, we cry out to the only One who can truly help.

And He delivers us. He leads us by the right way into a city of habitation—into the church, into community, into purpose. He brings us exactly where we need to be, at exactly the right time.

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The psalm describes others who sat in darkness and gloom, prisoners in cruel chains because they rebelled against God's commands and despised His counsel. Their spirits were broken by hard labor. They stumbled with no one to help.

This isn't ancient history—it's our story too. We've been prisoners to sin, our lives filled with darkness and gloom, even while we thought we were having the time of our lives. Depression strangled us. Getting up each day felt impossibly hard.

We were in rebellion. We despised godly counsel. When someone tried to tell us about the Lord, we didn't want to listen. We were too proud, too self-sufficient, too convinced we had it all figured out.

So God, in His great love, had to break our spirits. Not because He's cruel, but because He loves us too much to let us perish. He had to get our attention. It wasn't pleasant. It wasn't fun. But it was necessary.

Then—there's that word again—then He heard our cries. Then He saved us. Then He broke the chains that bound us. Then He brought us into His marvelous light.

, and a stormy wind

Perhaps the most dramatic image in the psalm describes sailors on vast waters, facing a terrible storm. God spoke and raised a stormy wind that stirred up massive waves—rising to the sky, sinking to the depths. The sailors' courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunkards, and all their skills became useless.sometimes brings u

Anyone who's been in a real storm at sea knows this terror. When waves crash over the bow, when the ship lists violently from side to side, when you can't walk straight because the floor has become the wall—your training means nothing. Your experience fails you. You're utterly helpless.

That's where life brings us sometimes. Our skills fail. Our expertise means nothing. We're in the middle of a storm we cannot control, facing waves that threaten to overwhelm us completely.

"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper, and all the waves of the sea were hushed."

Here's a crucial truth: sometimes God delivers us at the end of our trouble. But sometimes—perhaps more often—He steps in while we're still in the middle of it. The storm hasn't ended. The waves are still crashing. But He brings peace to our spirits even as the circumstances rage around us.

He knows what He's doing in each of us. We're all individuals, and He knows exactly what we need and how long our trials must last to accomplish His greater work in our lives. When we cry out, it doesn't mean He'll immediately shorten our suffering. But it does mean He'll be present with us in it.

And when the time is right—when His work is complete—He will turn the raging sea into glass. Not a ripple. Not a wave. Perfect peace in the middle of the ocean of uncertainty.

A Reflection This Thanksgiving

As we approach this season of gratitude, we're invited to do what the psalmist did: reflect on God's goodness. Review your life. Look back and see God's strong hand at work.

When you truly see it—when you recognize how He's guided, protected, delivered, and blessed you—there's no room left for depression or anxiety or self-pity. The list of His goodness is long. Impossibly long.

Before you were born, He was already showing you mercy. Through every close call, every accident that could have ended differently, every moment when life hung in the balance—He preserved you. He redeemed you. He brought you through.

This isn't about ignoring difficulties or pretending life is easy. It's about choosing to focus on the evidence of His faithfulness. When we look back and see what He's done, it gives us unshakeable hope for what He will do in the future.

We must live as people of hope. Not because circumstances are always favorable, but because we serve a God whose goodness and mercy endure forever.

So let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Don't be silent about His salvation. Tell everyone how good He is. In a world that seems to grow darker by the day, proclaim this truth: **God is good, and His mercy endures forever.**

Stop in the midst of your busy week. Put down your devices. Gather your family. And together, declare: "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever."

That's not just a nice sentiment. It's the foundation of faith. It's the anchor in the storm. It's the truth that changes everything.