Former Blackout Artist

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? – Psalm 116:12

Oh, the weight and wonder of this question! The psalmist stands, as it were, on the precipice of God’s overwhelming goodness, gazing back at a sea of divine benefits – mercies too numerous to count, too vast to comprehend. Salvation from death, deliverance from affliction, the steadfast love of God that has held him fast – what can he possibly give in return? What can you or I, finite creatures, offer to the infinite Creator who has lavished us with such grace?!

For a moment let us feel the force of this question. The psalmist isn’t merely asking about duty; he’s trembling with awe. God has been good – unspeakably, immeasurably good. He has not dealt with us according to our sins but has crowned us with lovingkindness (Psalm 103:4, 10). He has drawn us up from the pit, heard our cries, and set our feet on solid ground. And now, heart brimming with gratitude, the psalmist asks, “What shall I render?” What can possibly match the magnitude of such mercy?

The answer, loved one, is not one of transaction. No, you cannot pay God back – oh flee from that thought! Your hands are too small, your resources too meager, to pay the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). But here is the glory: God doesn’t want your payment. He wants your heart! He wants your life poured out in love, in worship, in joyful obedience. “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord” the psalmist proclaims in the very next verse. What do you render? You receive. You drink deeply from the cup of salvation. You call on Him, trusting Him more, savoring Him more, magnifying Him more. As John the Baptist told his disciples when the Son of Man first appeared to them, “He must become greater, I must become less” (John 3:30).

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him! So, what do we render? We render a life that delights in God above all else. We render a heart that says, “Your steadfast love is better than life” (Psalm 63:3). We render obedience not as a grudging duty but as a glad response to grace. We render worship that exalts His name, whether in the quiet of our prayers of the public praise of His people. We render a life that testifies, “I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8).

Dear Christian, let this question grip you today! What shall I render to the Lord? Let that question drive you not to self-reliant striving but to Christ-exalting surrender! Look to Jesus, the spotless and precious Lamb who rendered everything – His very life for you! And in His strength, offer your life as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), not to earn His favor but to reflect it. Drink deeply from the cup of salvation, calling on His name.

And let your every breath declare that His benefits are your joy, and that He Himself is your greatest reward.

Today’s Prayer: O Lord, Your benefits are too great for me to number, Your love too deep for me to fathom. What can I give You but my heart, my trust, my all? Fill me with the joy of Your salvation, and let my life be a song of praise to Your name. In Jesus, my treasure, amen.