Teresa of Ávila: Benefits

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Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:2

“His Majesty desires and loves courageous souls… Do not let your soul and spirit shrink, for you may lose many benefits… Do not let your soul hide in a corner, because then instead of striving for sanctity you will simply come up with other imperfections and many more of them.”

Teresa of Ávila in The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself 13.2-3.

The header photo above gives you my view at L4, the The Fourth Lausanne Congress in Seoul, South Korea. It’s a joy to participate in meetings with more than 5,000 influential Christian workers.

My small table is a slice of heaven. I am sitting with three men and two women from Saudi Arabia, Poland, India, Lebanon, and USA. Delegates at the event represent more than 200 nations.

Each one of these participants has a choice, as well as you, reading this somewhere around the world, has a choice today after reading this post.  You can choose to strive for sanctity with courage or you can let your soul hide in a corner.

Today, with David the Psalmist, I want to remind you of the benefits that come to us when we strive for sanctity. When we set ourselves apart and aim to live every single minute of every day for God.

Rather than make a list, soak in the entire Psalm today. Enjoy Psalm 103. And strive for sanctity with courage.

1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.