The Fall air smells crisp, and I'm thankful.

Tiny trick-or-treaters that knock at the door and say please and make me thankful.

I have food in the fridge, a warm bed, and a reason to get up every morning, and I am thankful.

Lately, I've been overwhelmed by gratitude. It's not because Thanksgiving is approaching. I don't know what it is. I only know that with a high degree of frequency, I find myself whispering to God, "thank you."

Of course, sometimes gratitude doesn't come so readily. We can know in our heads that we should feel thankful, but then life happens.

Life grabs its own megaphone and tries to drown out our gratitude. All we hear in our heads is deadlines, ailing health, relational fractures, and heaven help us if we turn on the news. The world tries to make us forget all we have to be thankful for.

Consequently, I can't think of a better Scripture to focus on than this one from the Psalms:

"Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits––" Psalm 103:2 NIV.

Our church has been doing a corporate reading of the first five books of the Bible. I've learned this: God mapped out many carefully thought-through opportunities for His people to remember.

He wanted them to remember where they came from.

He wanted them to remember who they were.

He wanted them to remember who He was.

In all these things, His benefits were abundant.

What exactly is a benefit? One definition is "something that produces good or helpful results or effects or that promote well-being." 

When Scripture tells us to remember God's benefits, this definition helps me zero in. The reality is that God has done many things in many areas (physical, mental, social, and spiritual) that promote our well-being. 

Let's unpack God's many physical benefits to us. 

In the part of the world we live in, we lack so little regarding our physical needs. 

In 2010, our family and another family went to Haiti for a short-term mission trip. We hauled cement alongside Haitian workers. The day was long, and the work was hard. They were grateful for what they were compensated for, but missionaries told us that it wasn't uncommon for them to work that hard for a bowl of rice and beans. 

Our Haitian friends were accustomed to some of the most strenuous labor I'd ever experienced for One. Meal. A. Day.

If you compare the average income of a single adult in the Midwest, they make more than ninety-six percent of the rest of the world. 

Ninety-six percent!

That's a number that takes work to get our heads around. When something is hard to comprehend, it's equally hard to remember. We are so very physically blessed. 

We've barely touched on the material way God has blessed many of us. We could do a deep dive, but there's another kind of physical blessing we cannot forget.

The miracle of our physical bodies.

Our bodies are marvels of engineering. 

- Our tongue is covered in about 8,000 taste buds, each containing up to 100 cells helping you taste your food! All in all, God gave us some 800,000 cells in our tongues just for the pleasure of taste!

- The entire surface of our skin is replaced every month, which means we have approximately 1,000 different skins in our lifetime.

- Our optic nerve contains more than one million cells, and our eyes can discern over 10 million variations in color. 

These are just three small facts regarding the physical wonders of our bodies! Focusing on what doesn't work or what we don't like about our bodies is easy. If we could only pause and remember the fantastic workmanship that our bodies are!

Unfortunately, it can be challenging to be completely satisfied, even grateful, for how God has made our bodies.

I don't just forget the marvel of engineering that I am. The truth is I'm ignorant. I'm not even aware of how amazing my body is. 

What's hard to confess is that even if I did know, I fear that the harshness with which I judge my body would outweigh that knowledge.

What would our lives be like if we could look at ourselves the way we look at our kids or even a favorite pet? We don't judge them the way we judge ourselves.

We love them… precisely the way they are. 

God feels that way about us. 

Earlier, we mentioned that life has its own megaphone. I believe in God. And I believe in the devil. Perhaps the enemy's megaphone is the loudest of them all.

He'll say, "You're not pretty." God looks us in the eye and says, "I am the King. And I am wild for you." Psalm 45:11-16 MSG That's how God sees us. 

The enemy says,

"Physical wonder? Your arms are toothpicks, and you're thick in the middle." God rests His hand on our shoulders and says, "I created you with a spirit of strength and love and self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7).

That's what God thinks about us. 

Satan says, "You're old and dried up." God cups our chin in His hand and says,

"Even in old age they [you] will still produce fruit; they [you] will remain vital and green." (Psalm 92:14 NLT)

That's the future He envisions for us. 

"Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits––" Psalm 103:2 NIV.

Indeed! May we not forget God's benefits, including how good He is in the way He cares for and views our physical selves.