This is My Offering

What will I give to Yahweh for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of Yahweh. I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people. Psalm 116:1-2, 12-14 (WEB)

Sometimes I am not even aware that God has heard my voice because the cry goes out from my heart and never passes my brain!  Think of the worse thing that has ever happened to you.  Maybe it was the unexpected death or abandonment of someone that you loved.  Maybe it was an unexpected layoff from a job after a 20-year career.  Maybe it was a telephone call from a police officer asking, “Is this (your name)?” And he/she has information about some tragedy that has happened to someone you know and even love.  Or maybe it is about a hurricane or a war.  In that moment, it seems like your mind goes into ‘neutral’ or ‘stall’.   Even in that moment, I remember a ‘cry’ came up out of my heart.  I don’t know that I could even describe the cry in words or a coherent thought.  But God knew what was in my heart.  God knew what I needed even before I did.  He knew the next step for the next hour and the next day and the next year.  God’s ear was turned toward me.

The next thing that may happen is the cry turns to a bargain with God.  “God, if You do ____, then I promise to _____.”  Little ol’ me bargaining with God, Creator of All!  How funny is that?!!  What could I have or what could I do that weighs in a balance with what God can do?  The only thing that I can do … is be obedient.  Yes, just do what God asks of me.

“…if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”                2 Chronicles 7:14 (WEB, emphasis mine)

Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.          Matthew 28:18-20 (WEB, emphasis mine)

When I ‘die’ to my way and my plan and become the servant that God desires, then in serving others and being a reflection of what God is doing in my life, I begin to give back to God through what I do for His children.  I truly lift a pleasing offering to Him, a cup of salvation, an offering of thanksgiving and praise.