Praising The God Who Gives

“For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods,

the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome,

who has no favorites, accepts no bribes;

who executes justice for the orphan and the widow,

and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him.” 

// Deuteronomy 10:17-18

Sometimes I can forget just how much God has done for me. 

Not because I am ungrateful, or because I don’t understand the magnitude of all that God has given to me. But because it is easy to just get into a rhythm of day-to-day tasks in times of comfort. It’s easy to rest in contentment and forget about the difficult moments that once brought me to my knees—not by choice, but because I could not stand under their weight.

There’s a paradox in looking back at God’s work in our lives. The memories of times of struggle often fade the further we move from those trials, lessening the pain, but risking forgetting them entirely. And yet, holding onto the memory of the events as they were (pain included), is often what reminds us of the goodness of God.

Hindsight is a gift in which we can look back and see more clearly the Divine at work during even the most trying moments of our lives, but we can forget to use that gift too—forget to continually thank and praise God for the blessings we’ve received, the prayers that have been answered, the unconditional love that’s been given. 

And with that forgetfulness, often comes the failure to share the stories of praise and pass along the immeasurable generosity that has been bestowed upon us. I was reminded of this by today’s First Reading when Moses instructed the Israelites: “So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves . . . ” (Deuteronomy 10:19).

We love because God loved us first. We share what we have because we recognize all is gift. We care for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger because we can relate to their suffering, and in those instances we struggle to relate, we show compassion because the God Who has done great things for us commands it (see Deuteronomy 10:17-21). 

Sisters, may we be encouraged to honor that commandment with every memory of the lavish love, generosity, and mercy that has been showered upon each of us by our amazing Creator. And in doing so, continue to praise God for all that we have been given—yesterday, today, and for eternity.