Psalm 9:1–2 (NLT)
“I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
2 I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.”
Praise With Your Whole Heart
The opening line of Psalm 9 sets the tone: “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.” There’s no halfway approach here. As Spurgeon once said, “Half heart is no heart.” In other words, either you give God everything… or you’re not really giving Him anything at all.
This isn’t just David’s idea. Scripture reinforces it over and over again. Moses declared it:
Deuteronomy 6:4–5
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
And Jesus affirmed it:
Matthew 22:36–38
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.”
Last week we looked at the power of stepping into God’s house with thanksgiving, and offering praise in His courts, near the altar and the water in the tabernacle. Both gratitude and praise are essential practices for a heart that loves God fully.
Remembering What God Has Done
Building on that foundation, Psalm 9 leads us deeper into the beauty of thankfulness:
“I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1–2)
There is tremendous faith released when we look back and remember what God has already done for us. Yes, scripture urges us to forget some things: our failures, mistakes, shortcomings, and past sins. Those belong buried in the waters of baptism, never to be revived again.
The enemy loves to use those memories to hold us back from what God wants to do in our present and future. But while we forget our failures, we must hold tightly to our victories.
There is power in speaking thankfulness over the miracles, breakthroughs, and rescues God has already provided.
“Choosing to remember and be thankful for what God has done gives us confidence for what He’s still going to do.”
The commentator MacLaren put it beautifully:
“Today is as full of God to this man as the sacred yesterdays of national history, and his deliverances as wonderful as those of old.”
Put another way:
David understood that the God of the present is just as real, active, powerful, and astonishing as the God of Israel’s past.
If He Did It Before… He Can Do It Again
This is what we need to let shape our thinking:
- The God who moved before hasn’t changed.
- The God who delivered yesterday is delivering today.
- The God who opened a door then can open another now.
Hebrews reminds us:
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
Instead of letting your present circumstance fuel your fear, let your past victories fuel your faith.
A bigger obstacle in front of you doesn’t mean a smaller or weaker God behind you.
Throughout Scripture, the challenges increase as the people grow:
- Joseph’s pit was hard, but the prison was even harder. Yet both prepared him for the palace.
- The Israelites faced the wilderness… but the giants in the Promised Land were a whole new level.
Ten spies only saw the giants. Joshua and Caleb saw something else: the God who had already proven Himself.
Numbers 13:30
“Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”
That’s the voice of someone who remembers.
Faith Fueled by Memory
That quote is worth repeating:
“Choosing to remember and be thankful for what God has done gives us confidence for what He’s still going to do.”
I see this truth in my own life. Crystal has surgery tomorrow, and the reason I have faith for her isn’t blind optimism. It’s because God has come through in every medical situation she’s ever faced. Even though this challenge is bigger, my faith is fueled by the victories behind her.
The same is true for our church. In the last 30 years we’ve moved through four different buildings. Each one carried rising challenges, but also rising victories. I can’t forget what God has done. I need those memories to fuel my faith for what’s ahead in the church God has called me to lead in Manchester.
What Do YOU Need to Remember Today?
Ask yourself:
- What are you facing right now that looks impossible simply because you forgot what God already brought you through?
- What giant seems overwhelming that could shrink if you remembered His past faithfulness?
- What situation needs you to speak life and thankfulness over it—even though it feels too big?
Thankfulness over your past victories is the gateway to faith for your future breakthroughs.
Let your memory preach to your situation.
Let yesterday’s miracles speak into today’s battles.
And let gratitude build a foundation for unshakable, unwavering thankfulness.
