This past Sunday, during the musical time of the worship service, we were led in singing Goodness of God. In the words of this song, I see the heart of Psalm 9:1 – the reflection on and recounting of how truly good God has been, and is, to us. Let’s meditate for a moment on the words of this worship song…

•••
I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

Chorus
All my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest night
You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a Father
I’ve known You as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God

Bridge
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
With my life laid down, I surrendered now, I give You everything
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

(Bethel Music: Jenn Johnson, Ed Cash, Ben Fielding, Jason Ingram, and Brian Johnson)
•••

The Christian life is often described as a journey, a race, or a battle but, at its most fundamental level, Jesus describes it as a “place of residence.” He calls us in John 15 to “abide in Me”—to make our home and remain in Him, and to take up permanent residence in His love. While “abiding” can sometimes feel like an abstract concept, Psalm 9:1 provides some practical insights on how we can settle our souls into the presence of God: “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds.”

To abide in Christ is, simply put, to live in a perpetual state of being aware of His presence. Psalm 9:1 teaches us that this awareness is grounded in two purposeful undertakings of the our soul: wholehearted gratitude and the active remembrance of His character.

Wholehearted Gratitude
The Psalmist, David, begins with a self-exhortation  to give thanks with his whole heart. In world where our hearts are often divided – we give a piece of our heart to our families, a piece to our careers, a piece to our fears and anxieties, a piece to our digital distractions, and whatever remains to God – this fragmentation is the enemy of abiding. This division in our hearts leads to spiritual lives that often times feel empty, shallow, and impatient for something more.

Abiding in Christ requires a “whole heart”; He doesn’t want to be relegated to a single room of our life but, rather, He wants to be the foundation of and to inhabit the entire house. Giving thanks with a whole heart means we bringing everything into the light of His grace – our successes, our seemingly routine activities, our struggles and hardships – thanking Him for His provision and presence, effectually placing every aspect of our lives into His presence. This is abiding.

Gratitude is a choice we can can make moment to moment, and choosing to “give thanks in all circumstance” (1Thess 5:18) works to keep our heart from wandering. A heart that is full of thanks has little room for false idols, distractions, or being brought low by disappointments we encounter in this world that serve to keep us from fully abiding in Christ. Choosing to thank Him with and in everything anchors us to the reality that we are never alone, never forgotten, and never without His grace.

Active Remembrance
The second part of Psalm 9:1 moves from the internal choice of the heart to give thanks in all things to an internal and external action: “I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds.” To recount means “to number, to tell, or to declare.” It is both a mental remembering and a verbal retelling of God’s faithfulness.

Abiding is not a passive relaxation or zoning out, or a “chill” mindset; it is an active centering of our heart and mind on the goodness of God. Our minds, left to themselves, by nature will drift toward problems, “what-ifs,” and the “deeds” of our enemies and our failures; left to themselves, our minds will drift to abiding in worry, anxiety, fleshly wants and desires, disappoints, and being disgruntled or angry. The action of recounting God’s “wonderful deeds” is a spiritual discipline that serves to disrupt the drift toward things that are the enemy of abiding. To abide in Him in active remembrance is to constantly reflect on and recount how God has showed up in your life.

• How He provided the “peace that passes understanding” during difficult times
• How He provided a job or a friend exactly when you reached the end of your rope.
• Ultimately, how He sent His Son to die while you were still a sinner!

By recounting His deeds in the past, we bring His faithfulness into the present, allowing us to trust Him in the here and now as well as the future. The act of remembering the Christ of yesterday allows us to abide in the Christ of today.

Final Thoughts
In our busy lives, we often lose our sense of awe and wonder. We no longer see the beauty of the sunrise, no longer think of the miracle of our next breath, or no longer consider the Word of God as a life-changing book and relegating it to a “decoration” on our coffee tables to collect dust. But the one who abides in Christ sees the “miraculous in the common,” living eyes wide open to the reality that the Creator of the universe wants us to abide in Him as He abides in us.

Lastly, consider the question: what would it look like if we took to heart Psalm 9:1, applying wholehearted gratitude and active remembrance to our daily walk?

Jesus tells us in John 15 that those who abide in Him bear much fruit. When we give thanks with our whole heart, the fruit is peace – we no longer fixate on and are troubled by those things that would serve to distract us. When you recount His deeds, the fruit is courage. Like David, we can face Goliath today because we’ve spent time remembering how God took down the giants in our past. And, when you focus on His wonderful character and nature, the fruit is joy. We find a contentment and gladness that isn’t dependent on our circumstances but, rather, on the unchangeable character of the One we abide in.  Selah…