Psalm 103:1 – “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits…” Psalms 103:2 ESV 

While traveling to a meeting in another state, I was fortunate (or unfortunate depending on how you look at it) to have a 3-hour layover in the DFW airport. Since my layover coincided with lunch time, of course, I was trying to decide where I should go for lunch. Pappadeaux’s was an option. Pappasita’s was an option. La Maggiano was an option. Additionally, enjoying and relaxing in a minute suite was on the to-do list; thanks to the perks of my credit card. 

On this trip, I decided to see what other options were available to me besides the Minute Suites. I happened upon Club DFW. I took the Skylink to the D Concourse and made my way up the very steep flight of steps to enter the club. Upon entering, I was greeted by the receptionist and was asked for my boarding pass and my membership card. Once verified, I was able to enter and enjoy the amenities and benefits available to me because of my membership. As American Express used to say in the nineties, “Membership has its privileges!” 

My eyes brightened at the sight! There was quite a spread laid out for me for free! There was salad dressed with maple vinaigrette. I had the option to adorn my salad with toppings like roasted red bell pepper and edamame. There were turkey pinwheel and hummus pinwheel sandwiches. There were soups and pasta. There were lattes, sodas, teas, expressos, and hot chocolate available. There were mixed alcoholic beverages available to me. Snacks like yogurt raisins and dried banana chips were also available to me. There were also quiet areas for me to relax and do work. There was pineapple water. There was cucumber mint water. And it was all available to me for as long as I wanted to be there and to enjoy as much as I wanted to eat. Did I mention it was free?! All because of a credit card I have. 

Yes! Membership has its privileges! 

I’ve had that status with that credit card since about 2017. Why is it that I am just now experiencing this benefit…three years later!!?!! 
 
What a sad realization that I could have been enjoying this so many times before! 

I thought to myself, “I travel through the DFW airport at least once a month and this is my first time experiencing this. I could have been enjoying this experience more often; however, I was either too complacent and maybe, dare I say, too lazy to explore the other benefits because my first find was so good! 

How often do we miss out on things in life because we are either too lazy or too complacent? 

Let’s go deeper. How often do we miss out on what God has for our life because we have become complacent with the blessings he has already given us? God has so much in store for us, but we don’t venture out to enjoy the journey with God because we like what we have right now. What I know right now is much better than what I don’t know.  Furthermore, I have to give up the good I know for the potential good I don’t know. Sometimes we are not so sure the risk is worth it.  

Membership has its privileges, but we settle for the first thing we encounter. Why is that? Maybe it takes too much effort to comb through the documentation or search for it on the internet to see the vast number of perks. Maybe we feel out of place and believe that those benefits don’t belong to someone like us. Whatever the case, we lose out and we lose out BIG! The same is true spiritually. We don’t want to comb through the bible or do some extra bible study on our own because that would require me to give up something tangible for something intangible. Maybe we don’t think we are worthy enough to receive and enjoy the benefits because we just messed up the previous day. Those are just tricks of the enemy!

There is so much more God wants to show us. There is so much God wants us to experience. He came that we might have life and have it abundantly. But we either don’t trust that he has good gifts for us or we don’t want to take the time to search for and partake in all the benefits we get. Oftentimes, just as we do in the physical realm, we settle for the first find. As the old adage goes, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” 

I believe there is another reason we settle. I surmise that we don’t know all of our benefits. May I challenge you to start off asking some people you trust about our benefits as God’s children. Then, may I challenge you to start searching for these precious jewels in your bible. I have listed a few, but it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface! 

When we pray (talk to God), we experience and feel his presence. Psalm 16:11 says, “in His presence there is fullness of joy.” That is two benefits for the price of one!  

BENEFIT: His presence and his joy! 

Psalms 103:3-6, 8-13 ESV says we have these benefits: 

BENEFIT: God forgives all our iniquity! (v.3)
BENEFIT: God heals all our diseases! (v.3)
BENEFIT: God redeems our life from the pit! (v.4)
BENEFIT: God crowns us with steadfast love and mercy. (v.4)
BENEFIT: God satisfies us with good so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (v.5)
BENEFIT: The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. (v. 6)
BENEFIT: The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (v.8)
BENEFIT: God will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. (v.9)
BENEFIT: God does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. (v. 10)
BENEFIT: For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. (v.11)
BENEFIT: As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (v.12)
BENEFIT: As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” (v.13)

Now that we know a few, let us not forget ALL his benefits! Once you see this beautiful table spread before you, why don’t you sit down and dine? Eat, eat, and eat. I promise you will go back for more! 

Just like the club, it was so good, I went back on my return trip home. To my surprise, the staff remembered me. There was another spread for breakfast. The atmosphere was still relaxing and delightful. The company was pleasant. This time I talked to the staff like I had known them forever. Big shout out to LaToya, Veronica and Riley! 

I made more of an extra effort to get there this time. Why? I tried it the first time and found that it was worth the sacrifice!

Was it out of my way? Yes. I arrived at the furthest gate of the B concourse and had to go near the furthest gate in the D concourse. To top that off, my flight left out of the A concourse. Thank God for the Skylink. It made the journey short and timely. If you make an effort to get to God, he will make a way for you to get to the place where he has a table spread out for you! 

Did it require extra walking on my part? Yes! 

Did it require me to walk up a steep flight of steps and pause to catch my breath when I reached the top? LOL! Yes. 

It was all worth the sacrifice.

Did I feel unwelcome even after just being there two days ago? No. 

In fact, they welcomed me with a smile and were happy to see me again! I don’t think I can ever wear out my welcome! What a great feeling. I was compelled to tell them about my revelation from the first visit and did so with Riley. Riley pondered and said, “Forget not His benefits!” We almost had church in the DFW club! 

So, friends don’t let the privileges and benefits of your relationship with God go unused. Don’t worry about using them too much! You can never wear out your welcome with God. He wants you to come dine with him and enjoy his benefits.

Dine with God. 

Talk to God. 

Rest in God. 

Trust God. 

Walk with God. 

Praise and Worship God. 

Search for and Find God. 

Honor God. 

Obey God. 

Love God. 

Believe God.

Seek God.

Yes!! Seek the Lord while he may be found. Jeremiah 29:13 says you can seek and find the Lord when you seek him with your whole heart. Seek him and you will find that God is good. Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!” 

Friends, God is good! Life with God is good! God’s benefits are good and they are for us! But they are no good if they are not used. Don’t go another day without experiencing God’s benefits. Taste them and you will see that they are umm, umm good!

MEMBERSHIP INDEED HAS ITS PRIVILEGES.